A mango fair featuring 227 varieties of mango on a single boat has been held in Chapainawabganj. Deputy Commissioner AKM Galiv Khan opened the fair at the collectorate premises in the town on the afternoon of 11 June, and a discussion meeting followed at the same venue.

The 227 varieties were arranged on one boat, and mango growers and visitors crowded in to see the display.

Anarul, a local mango trader at the fair, said: "I knew Chapainawabganj was the best for mangoes, but I didn't know there were so many varieties. I came today and found out."

Visitor Ali Hasan said: "I had heard of mango fairs but had never seen one, so I came to see. I have never seen so many kinds of mango together. Today I did."

Munjer Alam Manik, general secretary of the association, said Chapainawabganj has more than 300 varieties of mango, and almost all of them are tasty. Since not every tree has fruit at the moment, the fair began with 227 varieties, and in future they will organise such fairs with even more.

Palash Sarkar, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Chapainawabganj, said mango exports from the district had risen over the past few years, bringing some relief to growers. "We hope more mangoes will be exported this year. That will boost the district's economy and make growers self-reliant. That is what we are working for," he said.

Varieties on display included Bogla Guti, Gourmoti, Ranipochhondo, Mallika, Katimon, Motichur, Rajguti, Swarati, Sandy, Khirsapat and Sinduri, among 227 named and unnamed kinds. Entrepreneurs at 17 stalls were selling various dishes made from mango.

The DAE organised the fair under its exportable mango production project.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Ahmed Mahbub-ul-Islam, district DAE training officer Md Atikul Islam, Additional Deputy Director (Crops) KM Kawsar Hossain and Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Sanjoy Kumar Sarkar were among those who spoke at the meeting on the initiatives and prospects around mangoes.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.