The Mango Mela has been held in the Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru during the height of the mango season for the past few years. It is held for a month and is an event that attracts mango lovers from around the city. This year the Department of Horticulture inaugurated the Mango Mela on 24th May 2014 and it ends on June 15
Highlights of Mango Mela
Around 90 farmers from different parts of the state including Chikballapur, Chitradurga, Doddballapur, Kolar, Ramanagar, Shimoga and Tumkur have set up stalls in the illustrious garden. The absence of middlemen ensures that the end consumer gets mangoes at a lower price than when bought from the open market. The price difference is upto 20% less in the case of certain varieties of mangoes.
Organic Mangoes
Another important aspect of the Mango mela at Lalbagh is that the farmers are encouraged to grow their produce organically. Therefore, one can hope to bite into a juicy slice without the accompanying taste or long lasting effects of chemicals, especially carbides. However, the price of organic mangoes has gone up to around 20-30%.
This year, the Horticulture Department also organised a 15-day exhibition and sale of fruits grown in the Lalbagh Botanical garden which lasted till the end of May.
Mango Price in Bangalore
The mangoes are priced below the HOPCOMS rate. The price of each variety varies from Rs.30/- to Rs.120/-. Other than mango, jackfruit is also sold at the venue. Jackfruit pods are sold at Rs.12/- to Rs.20/- per dozen.
Timings of Mango Mela
The mela will run on till 15th June. The mela opens at 8 am and goes on till 7 pm daily.
Varieties you can buy at the Mango Mela
The traditional favourites at the Mela are Alphonso, Sindura and Daseri. These are some of the other mango varieties that are on sale:
- Amrapali
- Badami
- Banaganapally
- Kesar
- Malgova
- Mallika
- Neelam
- Raspuri
- Ratna
- Totapuri
The Jackfruit varieties on sale include:
- Chandra Halasu
- Janagere
- Suriya Halasu
- Swarna
- Toobugere
Around 1.5 tonnes of mangoes have arrived at the botanical garden for sale this year. However, this quantity of mangoes is less compared to last year’s production, the reason being scarcity of rainfall. But that has not deterred the authorities from doing routine quality checks. The Horticulture authorities have also set up a committee to revise the rates of mangoes every five days so that both the farmers and the consumers do not feel cheated.
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