Three-day mango mela begins in cultural city

Mysuru: A three-day 'mango mela' started here at Kuppanna Park at Nazarbad on Friday. Being organised by the Department of Horticulture gives an opportunity to growerst o showcase their produce.

The mango mela being jointly organised by Karnataka Mango Development and MarketingBoard, Department of Horticulture and Mysuru Zilla Panchayat,is open from 9 am to 9 pm for the public.

Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Dr Bagadi Gautham who inaugurated the event said that the mango fair will directly connect farmers and consumers. This will support and encourage the farmers. "If you go to a fruit shop, you can only find three varieties, at the most. But in the fair, one can find up to 20 varieties of mangoes," the Deputy Commissioner explained.

Nagaraju H M, Joint Director of the Mysuru Division of the Horticulture Department, said: "Mango is an important crop in Mysurudistrict, grown in about 7,887 acres of land, with an averagea nnual production of 30 to 35 thousand tonnes. There are 26 stalls and16 varieties of naturally grown mangoes including Mallika, Lilly, Arka, Puneeth, Kesar, Imampasand, Tommy Atkins, Arka Anmol, Badami, Kalapad,Arka Neelkiran, Karanjio, SiddapuraAlavalli, ArkaSuprabhath, etc.,are displayed at the fair. Mango growers are given a platform to sell the fruit directly to consumers. Growers from Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara and Kanakapura are participating in the fair."

Zilla Panchayat CEO B R Poornima, Additional Horticulture Director DrPrakash M Sobarad, Managing Director of Karnataka Mango Developmentand Marketing Board Dr J V Nagaraj, Mysuru Superintendent of Police RChethan and others were present.