SANGAREDDY: The Fruit Research Station in Sangareddy district, which was once known as the paradise of top-quality mangoes, has not been able to find any visitors for quite some time now, owing to the pandemic situation. As a result, one of the largest fruit research centres in Asia has been wearing a deserted look, since March, 2020.
People from all over the State, and even neighbouring States such as Karnataka and Maharashtra, used to visit the research station previously to buy special and rare fruits. However, the situation completely changed in the last one year. Sales which went down drastically last year due to the lockdown, have not picked up proper pace yet. Though the research station showed small signs of recovery during the unlock stage, all the dreams went down the drain after the resurgence of the virus.
Since people are now scared to step out of their houses, like never before, the research station has not been witnessing many visitors. Meanwhile, traders say that though doctors have been recommending mangoes for boosting immunity, the fruit has not been seeing much buyers.
According to Mohammad, a person who sells fruits inside the station, there are 475 varieties of mangoes at the research centre. As a person who has been selling fruits here for the last 20 years, Mohammad said that this was the first time he witnessed such a situation. “We used to sell mangoes worth `50,000 in a day. Now, no matter how hard we try, we are not able to generate more than `25,000,” he said. Stating that about 25 employees work at the research station, he expressed hope that the sales will pick up pace soon.