<p class="bodytext">Bengaluru’s Kadlekai Parishe or groundnut fair will kick off this weekend. The annual event, a highlight of the city’s calendar, is held after the first yield of the crop. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The stalls of the Parishe will line the stretch between 3rd Cross, N R Colony and Ramakrishna Matha. There will also be stalls selling household items, textiles, and fast food. </p>.<p class="bodytext">One can expect to sample different varieties of kadalekai such as Salem, Samrat, Badami, Sana and Dappa kai at the fair.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vendors from across the city are busy setting up their stalls. Valarmani, a vendor from Yeshwantpur, has brought around 45 bags of the legume. “Each bag weighs around 30 kg. We will hopefully be able to sell it all for a good profit,” she said. A vendor who came with his family is hopeful that there will be more visitors this year. “We are expecting a larger footfall this year. We have brought several types of kadalekai from Yeshwantpur,” he added. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Out of the 700-odd stalls, 350 will be selling groundnuts, said former mayor B S Sathyanarayana, who is also a member of the Kadalekai Parishe committee. The fair draws an estimated 14 lakh people every year. “There will be around 25 police towers at the event to ensure law and order is maintained,” he said. He added that there will also be sellers from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, apart from farmers from villages around Bengaluru. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold">Citizen’s requests </span></p>.<p class="bodytext">The Heritage Basavanagudi Residential Welfare Forum and other citizens have appealed to the Bengaluru Traffic Police and City Police, to ensure there is enough space for movement of emergency services (ambulance and fire engine), says Guruprasad R K, secretary of the Forum. This was not done last year, and caused multiple issues, he added. </p>.<p class="bodytext">This year, a number of citizen groups and NGOs, like Youth for Parivarthan, Basavanagudi Kannada Balaga and Prathibimba Trust have taken interest “to ban the use of plastic bags” and promote the use of cloth bags at the event, says Satish Urala. Satish is a resident of Basavanagudi, and president of Appu Balaga Association, a fan’s club of late actor Puneeth Rajkumar. “Previously, the Parishe would only be for around two days but nowadays it extends to three or more,” he added. Every year, the association offers rugs and food to the women vendors at the Parishe. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Citizens have also appealed to authorities to restrict the sale of toy whistles, said Satyalaxmi Rao, a civic activist from Basavanagudi.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Bengaluru’s Kadlekai Parishe or groundnut fair will kick off this weekend. The annual event, a highlight of the city’s calendar, is held after the first yield of the crop. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The stalls of the Parishe will line the stretch between 3rd Cross, N R Colony and Ramakrishna Matha. There will also be stalls selling household items, textiles, and fast food. </p>.<p class="bodytext">One can expect to sample different varieties of kadalekai such as Salem, Samrat, Badami, Sana and Dappa kai at the fair.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vendors from across the city are busy setting up their stalls. Valarmani, a vendor from Yeshwantpur, has brought around 45 bags of the legume. “Each bag weighs around 30 kg. We will hopefully be able to sell it all for a good profit,” she said. A vendor who came with his family is hopeful that there will be more visitors this year. “We are expecting a larger footfall this year. We have brought several types of kadalekai from Yeshwantpur,” he added. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Out of the 700-odd stalls, 350 will be selling groundnuts, said former mayor B S Sathyanarayana, who is also a member of the Kadalekai Parishe committee. The fair draws an estimated 14 lakh people every year. “There will be around 25 police towers at the event to ensure law and order is maintained,” he said. He added that there will also be sellers from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, apart from farmers from villages around Bengaluru. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold">Citizen’s requests </span></p>.<p class="bodytext">The Heritage Basavanagudi Residential Welfare Forum and other citizens have appealed to the Bengaluru Traffic Police and City Police, to ensure there is enough space for movement of emergency services (ambulance and fire engine), says Guruprasad R K, secretary of the Forum. This was not done last year, and caused multiple issues, he added. </p>.<p class="bodytext">This year, a number of citizen groups and NGOs, like Youth for Parivarthan, Basavanagudi Kannada Balaga and Prathibimba Trust have taken interest “to ban the use of plastic bags” and promote the use of cloth bags at the event, says Satish Urala. Satish is a resident of Basavanagudi, and president of Appu Balaga Association, a fan’s club of late actor Puneeth Rajkumar. “Previously, the Parishe would only be for around two days but nowadays it extends to three or more,” he added. Every year, the association offers rugs and food to the women vendors at the Parishe. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Citizens have also appealed to authorities to restrict the sale of toy whistles, said Satyalaxmi Rao, a civic activist from Basavanagudi.</p>