A five-day mango festival, Aam Mahotsav 6.0, has started in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh to promote tribal farmers and encourage them to sell their organic mangoes. The exhibition is being hosted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and features around nine varieties of mango from seven districts of the state. These include Noorjehan, Sundarja, Kesar, Chosa, Langda, Amrapali, Dussehri, Malda, and Sinduri, among others. These mangoes have been sourced from Alirajpur, Jhabua, Chhindwara, Satna, Rewa, Mandla, Shivpuri, and Narmadapuram.
The aim of the festival is to provide a marketing platform for mangoes produced under NABARD’s Wadi Project. The event was inaugurated on Thursday by Hemant Kumar Soni, the in-charge general manager of the Reserve Bank of India. Binod Kumar Mishra, the chief general manager of SBI, State of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, Tarsem Singh Jeera, SLBC Convenor, and PS Tiwari, the managing director of Apex Bank, were present on the occasion.
Around 150 quintals of different varieties of mango have been brought to the fest out of which around 90 quintals have been fetched, and on the inaugural day, around 40 quintals were sold. The organizers have also flagged off a Fruit Van for the sale of mangoes produced by tribal families. Furthermore, the festival’s purpose is to promote the commercialization of tribal products and upskill tribal communities.
The costliest mango available in the festival is Noorjahan from Alirajpur, weighing 3 kg and priced at Rs 1000 per piece. This variety is slowly reaching the verge of extinction due to the unsuccessful crafting of the tree. Another variety, Sundarja, which has recently received a GI Tag, is known for its medicinal properties and is available for Rs 300 per kg. Fibrous Malda mango is a sweet delicacy available from Chhindwara for Rs 200 per kg. This variety of mango is known for its fine flakes, which yield a lot of juice.
The ongoing mango festival gives an opportunity not only to tribals but also non-tribals to taste, appreciate and promote organic mangoes that are unique to Madhya Pradesh and are known for their purity, taste and aroma.
