Mango Utsav kicks off at Deshbandhu Park, to reach district level soon

Kolkata: State Self-Help Group (SHG) minister Sadhan Pande has expressed his optimism to expand the reach of the Mango Utsav and said such a festival will also be hosted at the district level

from next year.

This is for the first time that SHG department is organising a three-day Mango Utsav that kicked off at Deshbandhu Park in Shyambazar on Friday to offer a platform for mango cultivators to sell their variety of mangoes.

Leading mango producing districts in the state are taking part in the three-day Utsav that includes Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Howrah, Bankura and North 24-Parganas.

The SHG groups, who manufacture products like jam, pickles and similar readymade products of mangoes have also been invited to take part in the fair.

In an effort to tickle the taste buds of Kolkatans, who are crazy about sweets, two leading sweet chains have put up stalls at the venue churning out special sweets made from mangoes and Aam Doi (mango curd).

Exporters and importers of mangoes, who work in close co-ordination with the state Horticulture department, are also participating in the three-day Utsav to tap potential for exports.

" The Utsav will be held till Sunday from 4 pm to 9 pm. The footfall of the first day is a clear indication that the 20 odd stalls at the fair will have to make arrangements for bringing in more mangoes to cater to the demands of the customers. We had put up banners across the city as publicity campaigns and this has yielded fruits," a senior official of SHG department said.

Apart from SHG minister Sadhan Pande, the inaugural programme was attended by a number of state ministers that included Information Technology and Electronics minister Bratya Basu, minister for Agricultural Marketing Tapan Dasgupta, Tourism minister Goutam Deb, Minister of state for Tourism Indranil Sen and MP Saugata Roy.