Soon you will not be able to pluck the ripe jamuns for free or by throwing stones at those majestic jamun trees that lined the road from India Gate to Raisina Hill, now known as Kartvya Path.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued a notice inviting bids from agencies to collect the tropical fruit that also goes by the name of Java plum or Malabar plum and a complicated botanical name, Syzygium cumini.
An official said the move aims to boost revenues and stop the practice of throwing stones at the fruits, preventing injuries to visitors. The CPWD has invited bids for an open auction that will see the successful bidder collect the fruits from the site till August 31.
The auction will begin with a reserve price of Rs 1.30 lakh. In its auction notice, the CPWD has stated that jamun should be collected safely without any harm to tree trunks. “No rope, jhula or swing etc will be allowed to collect the fruits,” the notice read. “The materials will be disposed of after fruiting till the end of August, 2023, and the same is not subject to any dispute regarding its quality and quantity,” it added.
The trees are located at both sides of Kartavya Path and C Hexagon Road. The Kartavya Path, which extends from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, is one of the most visited tourist places in the national capital. There are several jamun trees on both sides of Kartavya Path, with some being nearly 100 years old. The variety here is a smaller and tangier variant of the common jamun, which is large and bland. The tradition of auctioning berries is about two decades old .
The Central Vista Avenue, stretching from the Vijay Chowk to the India Gate, was recently revamped under the government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment plan. The jamun trees of Central Vista are an entire ecosystem on their own, both culturally and ecologically.
Every year the NDMC auctions the fruit off its 500 Black berry trees in the Central Vista area, during the monsoons. Once sold as a humble fruit tossed with salt, it is now being used for sherbets, jams, syrups and as a well-liked flavouring for sorbets. Many chefs are exploring its citrusy taste in salads. Another supportive myth for the jamun, which is now known as the diabetic fruit because of its healing power in defeating rising sugar levels, is that Lord Krishna is also believed to have four symbols of the Jamun on his right foot.
