BENGALURU: The annual grapes and watermelon mela officially kicked off on Wednesday at the Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (Hopcoms) head office in Lalbagh.
Hopcoms President N Devaraj said the aim is to procure and sell 500 metric tonnes of different grape varieties from Chikkaballapura and other districts. He added that Hopcoms’ aim is to sell 800 metric tonnes of watermelons from all its stores in Bengaluru.
Devaraj said they have a network of farmers from Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kolar and Koppal, from whom they have procured the grapes and watermelon. “There are about 13 types of grapes and four types of watermelons.
Grapes are known for being rich in natural sugar, and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Similarly, watermelon contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B-1, B-2, potassium, magnesium, sodium, etc. and is good for digestion. We will give a 10-per cent discount at all our stalls in Bengaluru and the offer will continue till the end of summer,” said Devaraj.
On the sidelines of the conference, he also said that no government in the last few years has supported Hopcoms, concerning to their demand for funds, towards gratuity for retired workers. “Out of 600 employees, 200 retired and another 150 will be retiring in the next one year and we need at least Rs 25 crore. The present government in the budget has announced Rs 12 crore working capital support for Hopcoms,” he said.