As part of its efforts to popularise the mango varieties of Bengal, the state government has set a target to plant 13 lakh saplings of the tropical fruit this year, a senior official said on Thursday.
Inaugurating the two-day 'Aam Utsav' (Mango Festival) here, Subrata Gupta, additional chief secretary, food processing industries and horticulture, said that the department has made a list of 40 varieties and expanded the area of golden juicy fruit's cultivation from two-three districts to more.
"We are distributing saplings free of cost over the last few years as part of the initiative. We have set a target of planting 13 lakh mango saplings this year. A similar drive had taken place last year. West Bengal currently produces 9 lakh metric tonne mangoes; we aim to raise that limit in coming days," Gupta said. "Currently the country produces 2 crore MT of mangoes, which is 50 percent of the total mangoes produced worldwide," he added.
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Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay, who was also present at the function, maintained that mango originated in India, and the "fruit was introduced to our platter some 4,000 years ago".
State transport minister and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim said the government has taken steps for the welfare of farmers, including the mango growers in Malda. He said efforts are underway to popularise newer and exotic varieties from Bengal. "We aim to take this festival to a global platform, make consumers aware about different exotic varieties available and the various processed products made out of it," Hakim added.
