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Mango fair in Bangalore

          Bangalore: A fifteen-day-long mango fair was held in the Lal Bagh Botanical Garden here. It provided an opportunity for mango farmers in the region to market a wide variety of the fruit. A large number of visitors came here to relish numerous varieties of the fruit from across the country. The fair showcased a wide range of mangoes like Alphonso, Totapuri, Badami, Doodh Peda, Dussehri, and many others. "Some exotic varieties of mangoes like Kalapahadi and the local Dussehri are displayed. We have bought those varieties which are perhaps not available in the market," said P.V Prabhu, a visitor. For some the fair was just another time-pass affair, while for others it was a good experience to see various kinds of mangoes under one roof. "It was excellent, it was just a time-pass. I had come here with my friend to see what exactly is happening here so, we saw a plenty of varieties under one roof. It is nice," said T.V.S Rajan, another visitor. Besides it also offered an opportunity to the farmers to directly market their produce to the customers. "Through this fair the horticulture department has given a chance to the farmers to sell mangoes directly and maximize their profit and we also get the worth of it. Otherwise the middlemen buy them at a real cheap rate and sell them for a very high price," said Charitra, a female farmer. The fair had 72 retail counters, presenting the fruit lovers with 'authentic' mangoes, devoid of chemicals. "These city people are not getting the actual taste of mangoes. Mangoes sold here are ripened by using chemicals, but it is not so in our case. We plucked them from trees, and put them for sale only after they ripen naturally-to give the Bangaloreans the actual taste of mango," said Jai Dev, another farmer. Out of 1,100 varieties of mangoes, around 1000 are grown in the country. The major mango growing states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Assam Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- June 6, 2007