The premises of the Ballari Tahsildar office wore a festive look attracting thousands of mango lovers on Monday as it hosted Mavu Mela, an exhibition and sale of different varieties of mangoes.
The event was organised jointly by the Department of Horticulture and Horticultural Producers Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence.
The initiative received good response from growers and consumers of mango. Farmers from Kolar, Dharwad, Haveri, Gangavati, Koppal, Sirsi, Anantapur, Harapanahalli and other places brought mangoes to sell during the exhibition.
Nearly 300 varieties of mangoes, including Benishan, Alphonso, Ratnagiri, Totapuri, Raspuri, Sindhur and Badam, are on display at the festival.
Enthusiasts visited shops one after the other examining, tasting and buying different varieties of the king of the fruit.
Nearly 100 tonnes of mangoes are expected to be sold during the three-day festival organised for the first time in the land of mines.
“People in the region are not aware of the different varieties of mangoes. Except for those locally available varieties, people here have not tasted most of the other varieties of the fruit. To provide an opportunity to consumers to taste mangoes of different varieties and farmers to sell their crops, we organised the Mavu Mela. The response is very good. If people want, we will extend the mela for another day. Mango is grown only on 300 hectares in the twin districts of Ballari and Vijayanagara. This Mavu Mela is expected to encourage more farmers to take up mango cultivation,” Deputy Director of Horticulture Sharanappa Bhogi said.
When asked about quality of mangoes being sold at the mela, Mr. Bhogi said that mangoes have been put on display after a thorough examination to ensure quality.
“Mangoes available in the market are ripened with chemical spray. Consuming such contaminated mangoes is hazardous to health. Keeping this in mind, we have ensured that only naturally ripened mangoes are on sale at the mela. The department officials have examined the mangoes before allowing them to be put on sale,” Mr. Bhogi said.
Transport Minister and Ballari in-charge B. Sriramulu, who inaugurated the event, said that Mavu Mela will be organised in Ballari every year.
“The response to the first-ever Mavu Mela in Ballari is overwhelming. We need to continue to organise it every year. I will talk to the Minister and officers concerned about it,” the Minister said, urging people to savour the mangoes.
Ballari city MLA G. Somashekhar Reddy, Mayor Rajeshwari, Ballari Urban Development Authority chairman Palanna, APMC president Umesh, Deputy Commissioner Pavan Kumar Malapati, Zilla Panchayat CEO G. Lingamurthy and other senior officers were present.
