If you fancy GI tag mangoes such as “Malda Lakshmanbhog”, “ Malda Fajli” and “Malda Khirsapati” or “Malda Himsagar” varieties, then it’s time to head towards 9th Bengal Mango Mela at Janpath’s Handloom Haat which kicked off here on Monday.
The 15-day festival has brought together a huge quantity of around 40,000kgs of diverse range of delicious juicy mangoes such as Alphonso, Sindhura, Totapuri, Hapus, Ratnagiri, Chausa, Raspuri, Pairi, Himsagar, Neelam, Malkova, Malda, Langra, Kesar, Badami, etc, particularly from six different district of the State namely Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas and Bankura. Its not only the GI tag mangoes will be available for mango lovers. The fest also showcases the States handicrafts and handlooms, many of which are GI tags.
The Mela was inaugurated by Dr Subrata Gupta, additional Chief Secretary, Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture, Ujjaini Dutta, Resident Commissioner of West Bengal and Jayanta Kumar Aikat, Director , Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture.
Gupta shared that in comparison to last year, this time more stalls are participating and many new initiatives are being showcased. Gupta also said that for the first time five tribal groups of 10 tribal artisans are also participating at the event which on the first day itself saw a sizable number of footfalls. Among GI tags handicrafts and handlooms that will be available for sale will be Bankura Panchmura Terracotta, Bengal Dokra, Bengal Patachitra, Purulia Chhau Mask, Wooden mask of Kushmandi, Madurkathi among a vast range of attractive products.
The event will also include a cultural extravaganza for the audience to be mesmerised in the evenings. Last but not least, the event will let people indulge their taste buds with “Magical Mango” delights such as “Mango Mutton with Luchi”, “Mango Halwa”, “Mango Pulao”, “Mango Souffle”, “Mango Fish Fry”, “Mango Lassi”, “Mango Pastry” and many more delicacies.
Uzzal Saha, President of Malda Mango Merchants’ Association said that this year the State has seen record mango production and arrangements have been made to bring mangoes every day via trains to ensure buyers at the event get the fresh varieties of fruit. He said that West Bengal’s mangoes have a huge market in Europe and Gulf countries.
The use of GI, as an indication of the product’s origin, acts as a certification that the product has exclusive qualities, is made/produced according to traditional methods, or has a good reputation due to its geographical origin.