Rains Cause Severe Damage

The non-stop rain which still has to ‘calm down’ completely has taken its ‘toll’ on the ongoing national ‘Honey and Mango’ fest too.
Rains Cause Severe Damage

The non-stop rain which still has to ‘calm down’ completely has taken its ‘toll’ on the ongoing national ‘Honey and Mango’ fest too.

The heavy downpours and the lashing wind over the past few days in the city have adversely affected the trade at the fest going on at Kanakakkunnu and Suryakanthi ground, bringing down 50 per cent of the sales profit.

The non-stop rain from the very first day of the feat forced the sellers to throw away tonnes of mangoes.

The backyard of Suryakanthi ground are piled up with bags of rotten mangoes, about 8.5 tonnes, leaving the growers and the sellers no other option, but to reduce the selling price.

Mangoes costing Rs 70 per kilo in the first day were being sold out at Rs 100 for 2.5kg.

While sources said that  a minimum loss of 8.5 tonness of mangoes has been estimated for four days, Managing Director State Horticulture Mission K Prathapan says that “he has little knowledge about the rotten mangoes”.

The high rent charged by the organisers has also hit the spirit of the sellers. T K Balakrishnan, the secretary of Tamil Nadu Mango Growers Association, expressed his discontent saying that “charging rental fees of Rs 10,000 per stall has disheartened his team from Kanyakumari.’’  “ It should be like one tent for all stalls, each benefiting from the other,” he said.

However a ray of hope seems to glisten in the eyes of every seller on the fifth day . Pleasant and improved state of weather till evening on Thursday has dawned new hope upon them along with the extension of the fest till May 14.

“Compared to the previous years of the fest, the expected profit is yet to cross.

The favourable weather condition for the day and the extension of the fest  for three more days might help us to make the fest a success, as in the past,” says Ajay Chandra, the Project Officer of the fest.

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The New Indian Express
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