Haryana Mango Festival to begin at Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore on July 8

The famous annual mango festival of Haryana will begin at Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore, on July 8 with over 3,000 varieties of the "king of fruits" on display.

As many as 3,000 entries of mouth-watering mangoes from northern part of India and a range of mango products will be on display at the 26th edition of the festival at Pinjore,about 25 km from Chandigarh. Apart from showcasing various varieties of mangoes and providing an opportunity to visitors to see and taste them,the two-day event would be a grand affair featuring an assortment of cultural activities.

The event is being jointly organised by Haryana Tourism and Department of Horticulture. Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism Department,V S Kundu said a counter would also be set up for selling good quality mango plants.

Kundu said a seminar would be organised during the festival to make it more useful for farmers. "Specialists and scientists from agriculture universities of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have been invited to interact with farmers," he said.

The event also provides a common platform to artisans and self-help groups to display and sell their products. In tune with its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Haryana Tourism has invited differently-abled students to visit the 'Mango Mela' on July eight for free. Besides, people from registered senior citizen societies of Panchkula, Kalka and Chandigarh have been invited for July nine. Their entry would also be free, he added.

This year, Haryana government has decided to enhance the amount of prizes for mango quiz competitions from Rs 5,100 and Rs 2,100 to Rs 51,000 and Rs 21,000, respectively, Kundu said.

Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma will inaugurate the Mango Mela while Agriculture Minister Om Parkash Dhankar will be the chief guest in award presentation and closing ceremony on July nine, he said. Kundu also said there is a proposal to lease out food courts of Haryana Tourism on public private partnership mode,for which master plan is being prepared.

Apart from this, a scheme is being prepared to start adventure sports activities at Karna lake in Karnal, Tilyarlake in Rohtak and Badkhal lake in Faridabad, he added.