Gitanjali Mango Festival in Siliguri

A three-day long Mango Fest has been going on at the City Centre, Siliguri. The fest started on June 9 and will go on till June 11. It was organized by Modella Caretaker Centre and School (MCCS) along with the Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT). This is the 7th edition of the Gitanjali Mango Festival being celebrated.

More than 262 varieties of mangoes have been put on display at the festival. These mangoes were grown across 9 districts of West Bengal by 55 growers. The Gitanjali Mango Festival had local participants as well as those from neighboring countries of India, like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Some of the mango varieties displayed in the festival are the Kohitoor, Himsagar, Alphonso, Fajli, Amrapali, Langra, Ranipasand, Sindhu, Bira, Suryapuri Laxmanbhog and more. The mango variety that has been stealing the spotlight is the Miyazaki mango. 

Miyazaki is the world’s most expensive mango. It gets its name from the Miyazaki city in Japan where it is grown. It is sold at a whopping price of Rs 2.75 lakh per kilogram. The Miyazaki mangoes displayed in the mango festival are grown by a Miyazaki farmer named Shoukat Hussein, who is from Labhpur, Birbhum district of West Bengal.