Mango Mela in Dharwad from tomorrow
Dharwad: The
horticulture department
, which was struggling to augment funds to conduct
Mango Mela
, has finally managed to mobilise resources and decided to hold the five-day mela from May 13 to 17 at its office premises on Railway Station road in Dharwad.District minister Santosh Lad will inaugurate the mango fest on May 13 at 11am.
This is the 16th edition of the mango festival and over the years, the mela has been attracting people from neighbouring districts too.Dharwad, known for growing rich-quality Alphonso mangoes popularly called 'Dharwad aapus', has found a distinct place and is rated as one of the best table-top fruit.Horticulture deputy director KC Bhadrananvar said that after Ratnagiri, Dharwad is the only place wherein the rich variety Alphonso quality mangoes are grown. In Dharwad, Alphonso is grown in more than 25,000 hectares.Jogyellapur, Kelgeri, Tegur, Amblikopp, Halligeri, Mansur, Mugad, Mandihal, Devagiri, Navalur, Itagatti, Yerikopp, Kalkeri, Kyarkopp and other regions are known as Alphonso mango growing belt. The annual yield is expected is 1.50 lakh quintal. However, due to natural vagaries, there is a deficit of 50%.This has led to price rise. The 'King of the fruit' is being sold as high as Rs 700 per dozen in retail shops.Even though, people are paying such a princely price to the fruit, many are disappointed as chemically-ripened fruits are entering the market. However, the mango mela here has been facilitating people find the unique taste of the fruit. Over 40 mango growers who have grown the fruit organically and ripened them naturally have set up stalls at the mela.It may be stated here that the leaseholders from other states are visiting the mango groves soon after they start flowering and quote very less price. Unable to understand the market analysis, poor farmers are giving their groves on lease and end up getting less price.Hence, to help the growers get good price and help the consumers find naturally-ripened fruit, the Mango Mela has been started.At the mela, Alphonso, Kalmi, Badami, Kesari, Mallika, Neelam and other varieties of fruits will be on sale.Mango marketHorticulture deputy director Bhadrannavar further stated that mango has been selected under Union govt's One District, One Product scheme. Accordingly, the department has submitted a proposal seeking funds to set up an exclusive market and processing units in the district. Land has been identified at Itigatti on Hubballi-Dharwad bypass. Funds are awaited to start the market, he added.
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