Purulia, Jhargram will become major hub for Alphonso mango

Kolkata: Purulia and Jhargram districts will become a major hub for Alphonso mango in near future.

Alphonso mangoes is grown mainly in Maharashtra and is globally popular. In Bankura, 2,500 Alphonso saplings have been planted. Some varieties of the fruit were brought at the mango festival held in City Centre I recently.

Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs department will spend Rs 32 lakh to grow this variety of mango.

This include bringing 10,000 Alphonso saplings from Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkon Krishi Vidyapith in Maharashtra, setting up 11 gardens in these two districts and installation of drip irrigation system to water the saplings. Senior officials of the department will go to the University to bring the saplings.

Shantiram Mahato, state minister for Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs department said that the agricultural scientists have been contacted and they have given strong recommendations in favour of growing Alphonso in the districts of Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram. This will also help local people to become self reliant.

The District Magistrates of Purulia and Jhargram will be given 5,000 saplings each of which will be grown in four gardens in Purulia and seven gardens in Jhargram.

The saplings will be grown by members of Self Help Groups (SHG) under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.

Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs department along with the district administration will train the SHG members for three years about the maintenance of the gardens.

The scheme will help the SHG members to become self reliant. Senior officials of the department said the districts of Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram have great possibility in the production of Alphonso.

It may be mentioned that the lepers of Bankura who are fully cured have been growing vegetables and fruits to earn their livelihood under MGNREGA.