Volunteers to monitor prices, weight at grape, watermelon mela

 Volunteers will keep a tab on the price, weight and quality of fruits at various Hopcom centres during this year’s grapes and watermelon mela in the City.

As part of the mela, which will start on Wednesday, grapes and watermelon counters will be set up at all Hopcoms centres in the City.

Besides, mobile vans stationed at various locations will sell varieties of these fruits.
Addressing reporters here on Tuesday, Hopcoms managing director Dodda Kinde Gowda said volunteers would do a random check on the fruits being bought by customers. 

“We have received many complaints about prices and weight of fruits sold at melas in the past. So, we have taken such an initiative,” he said.

He said that this year they were hoping to sell over 1,000 tonnes of grapes and 4,000 tonnes of watermelon during the mela.

Despite low yield of grapes due to failed monsoon this year, Hopcoms is hoping to sell 1,000 tonnes. Most of the grapes varieties are sourced from Bijapur, Bagalkot and Gulbarga. After 15 days, grapes from Bangalore Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur are expected to arrive.

Grape varieties such as Thomson seedless, Sonaka, Sharad, Krishan Sharad, Ras-a-Ganesh, Indian Balock Globe, Red Globe, Flame seedless, Manik chaman, Bangalore Blue, Dilkush and watermelon varieties such as Arkamanik and Kiran from Bangalore Rural, Kolar, Mysore, Chamarajanagar and Mandya will be on sale. The mela will also have counters selling raisins.