Spoilt for choice at grapes, watermelon fair

Different types of grapes and watermelons are now available at the Horticultural Producers’ Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (Hopcoms) outlets in the City what with the ‘Grapes and Watermelon Mela 2014’ kicking off on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Mela, Hopcoms Bangalore president H K Nagaveni Chandrashekar Reddy said that more than 100 farmers from across the State – Bagalkot, Koppal, Kolar, Gadag and Bangalore Rural – would supply the produce to Hopcoms.

The Mela will go on for two months and the sale of both fruits is on at more than 20 Hopcoms outlets.

The grape varieties include Thomson seedless, Sonaka, Sharad, Krishna Sharad, Tas-a-Ganesh, Indian Black Globe, Red Globe, Flame seedless, Manik Chaman, Bangalore blue, Dilkush, among others. The watermelon varieties are Arkamanik and Kiran.

Horticulture department director D L Maheshwar said the Mela would enable consumers to buy the fruits directly from the growers and avail themselves of ten per cent discount.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who was present at the inauguration of the Mela, said the Horticulture department has taken steps to increase the number of Hopcoms outlets in the City in order to help the public and the farmers.

He also highlighted the plight of farmers, especially those cultivating crops in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumkur, Ramanagara and Bangalore Rural districts. “Due to the depletion of ground water in these districts, production of crops is suffering. Once the Yettinahole project is implemented, it will help farmers to a great extent,” the minister said.