A mango festival is on in the heart of New Town, bringing varieties of the summer’s top crop from eight districts, but the vendors are making losses as footfall is low.
Aam Utsav was flagged off at Organic Haat, diagonally opposite Biswa Bangla Convention Centre on the Major Arterial Road, on June 27 by food processing industries and horticulture minister Kalyan Chakraborty and agricultural marketing minister Dilip Ghosh but there has been little publicity for the event that showcases our national fruit.
“It will be difficult to carry so much of heavy unsold products all the way back home. So we are offering heavy discounts,” said a vendor from Murshidabad, selling processed mango products at a third floor stall.
Miyazaki mangoes from Malda. Each piece was sold for Rs 700
Gautam Bhowmik, a farmer from Santipur, Nadia, said this year’s sales were the worst among all editions of Aam Utsav that he has attended. “Since the event is happening at the fag end of the mango season, the fruits are not lasting for long. So much crop started rotting for lack of customers and had to be dumped,” he rued.
He has brought Fajli, Mallika, Lyangra, Amrapali and Lakshmanbhog. “My stock of Himsagar is over, part sold out and part thrown away,” he said, adding that it was still the most popular breed among customers.
Officials attributed the festival’s low-key publicity to the limited time available for preparations. “The festival is being held after a gap of two years and was organised on just a few days’ notice, that too rather late in the mango season. Our focus is also on the mango festival being held simultaneously in Delhi. Since the venue there is Chittaranjan Park this year, the response from the local Bengali community has been very encouraging,” an official said.
This is the second time that Aam Utsav is happening in New Town but there is no guarantee of a return as the venue shifts every year, he said.
Processed mango products — aamshi, aamsatwa etc — on sale
R.K. Ghosh of Action Area IID had come with family and shopped for Fajli, Amrapali, Chousa and Mallika. “The last breed is relatively unknown to us. These are organic products but prices are fair,” he said.
Nilima Das is visiting a relative in Kestopur and was amused to hear that the mango fair is also being held right in her backyard in Delhi.
Subho Das of Malda was explaining to customers that the soft and golden yellow aamsatwa sold in the market was actually pumpkin pulp with mango scent. “Ours is actual aam satwa of dried Gopalbhog variety. You can eat it as a snack.” He had also got aamshi to make Tak Daal with.
Bisuddha Enterprises had brought mango pickles as well as several non-mango items. “We make two types of ghee – one from butter and the other from the top layer of cream. Our black honey boosts immunity. You can also make chilla to dhokla with our multi-purpose mix of a variety of grains. We have also brought corns as a snack and khejur chini powder,” said Tanaya Kundu. “We are incubated in the Agri & Food Business Incubation Centre of IIT Kharagpur,” added CEO Jaydeep Saha.
The mango festival will be on till July 5, and is open from noon to 8pm.