Even though three official committees have been entrusted with the task of building Odisha’s case as the place of origin of Rasagola asking them to take one more month to gather facts, the State may well have conceded the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous sweet to its neighbour West Bengal.
“The Government had given us 15 days’ time (to gather facts). But it’s not possible to do it within 15 days. It’ll require another one month,” said an official of the Science & Technology (S&T) Department, which has been monitoring the issue.
West Bengal, it may be noted, woke up only after Odisha initiated its move to get GI status for the well-known Pahala Rasagola but got its act together in a jiffy and has already submitted its application for the coveted tag. The Odisha Government is still twiddling its thumb over questions like how Odisha’s Rasagola is different from that of West Bengal. Do Pahala Rasagola and Salepur Rasagola have any specialities that the one in Bengal doesn’tIJ
The three committees formed by the Science & Technology Department were asked to submit their report within 15 days, after which the application for GI tag would have been made to the Geographical Indications Registry. But with the committees now asking for more time, the battle is as good as lost, say knowledgeable sources.
Officials, however, are still assuring everyone that all is not lost yet. “Rasagola was invented in Odisha in the 12th century and was offered as Prasad to lord Jagannath. Even if they (West Bengal) have applied before us, our stake will stand,” the S & T Department official asserted.