Darjeeling: The succulent and sweet mangoes of Bengal could soon be making their way to the United States. A Mango Festival in Siliguri is all set to promote the mangoes of the state.
The 5th edition of the Gitanjali Mango Festival was flagged off on Friday in Siliguri. The festival showcases 270 varieties of mangoes and related products. The event will continue till Sunday.
The festival was inaugurated by US Consul General Craig Hall and Goutam Deb, state Tourism minister. "Mango is very popular in the US. The US had imported 650 tonnes of mangoes till May 2017. This year till May 2018, 850 tonnes had been imported by the US. The figure is expected to shoot up to 1,400 tonnes by the end of this year," stated the US Consul General.
Consul General Hall has assured that he will connect mango importers of the US with the sellers of Bengal. "US imports mangoes from the western part of India. However, after being a witness to the festival, Consul General Hall has assured us that he will try to connect the US importers directly with the mango sellers of Bengal. He was thoroughly impressed with the heritage varieties of Bengal mangoes," stated Raj Basu, Convener, Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT,) organisers of the festival in association with Modela Caretaker Centre and School.
Around 270 varieties of mangoes from 13 districts of Bengal; Chitwan area of Nepal; Northern part of Bangladesh along with Bihar and Orissa are on display and sale.
Along with this, stalls on handicrafts, rural tourism, food have been put up.
"Through the mango festival we are also trying to promote sustainable rural tourism," added Basu.
Lauding the festival, Goutam Deb stated: "Tourism is also a primary focus in this festival. Such festivals definitely go a long way in boosting the economy."