Mysuru  – It is summer and Mango, the king of fruits, has arrived at the markets in city. The mouth-watering varieties ‘Rasapuri,’ ‘Badami,’ ‘Sindoora,’ ‘Malgova’ and ‘Thotapuri’ are seen flooding the market. And to cash in on the mango season, a mega Mango Mela will be held from May 1.

The Mela will be organised for the first time in city by Agriculture Produce Marketers, Fruit Merchants’ Middlemen and Tenants’ Association. The Association has been preparing for the Mela since the last four months and is collaborating with RMC (Regulated Marketing Committee) sub-yard near Bamboo Bazaar.

According to the Association, the Mango Mela will be an attempt to bring the fruit directly to the consumers fresh from the orchards. Mangoes arrive at Mysuru markets from Nanjangud and surrounding areas, Yelwal, Bilikere, Hura, Herale, Hullahalli, Hunsur, K.R. Nagar and H.D. Kote, Gundlupet, Chamarajanagar, Channapattana and Ramanagaram.

The Mela at RMC sub-yard will be held for three months from May 1 and will be a must -visit destination for mango lovers and it will host more than 50 varieties of the fruit including Rathnagiri Alphonso, Mallika, Neelam, Sakkara Katte, Baganapalli, Kesar, Dussheri and Valaja. Apart from the local varieties grown in and around Mysuru, there will be a host of varieties from all over India.

“There will be more than 100 stalls and we have completed the works to set up stalls. The Mela intends to provide direct marketing opportunities to the farmers and agriculturists who have suffered due to severe drought,” said Association President Mahboob Sharief. The Mela is expected to generate a business worth crores of rupees.

This is for the first time that a Mela of this scale is being organised in Mysuru. “We have made sure that chemicals and other substances are not used to ripen mangoes and the growers have been told to ripen the fruits using the traditional and natural means. We will check the produce before it is sold at the Mela to ensure quality,” he added.

Mahboob Sharief said that the Mela will have arrangements for parking and the focus will be on organic fruit produce. “Guidelines have been issued to mango growers and we have already received several consignments of mangoes that are grown organically and ripened naturally,” he added.

This year’s mango season will be a bit higher on the price due to late and patchy flowering. This has resulted in a drop in mango production and will increase prices. Mango production was expected to drop by at least 50 percent in the State mainly because of late flowering for climatic reasons and drought. Ideally, flowering takes place in December and January and fruit formation thereafter, but flowering was observed in February and March.

Usually, mangoes are sold in heaps at the Ragi Mandi located in Mandi Mohalla’s Akbar Street. This crowded Ragi Mandi turns out to be an eyesore every year with merchants dumping decaying fruits inside drains and even at street corners attracting pigs and stray cows. This has caused severe problems to the residents and pedestrians who are now relieved to know that mango vendors this year will shift to RMC sub-yard near Bamboo Bazaar.