Kadlekai Parishe: Rural aura in heart of city

Bengaluru's Kadlekai Parishe, the groundnut fair, began on Monday with great fervour and joy. The iconic annual fair attracts visitors from across the city and transforms the streets of Basavanagudi into a festive hub.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar and Mayor R Sampath Raj inaugurated the fair.  

Traders at the fair sell a wide variety of raw, roasted, boiled and dried types of groundnuts.  

On the first day, thousands of people were seen purchasing groundnuts. The prices varied from Rs 20 to 30 per litre.

Almost 1,200 farmers and traders have set up stalls to sell groundnuts and the BBMP has increased the space for them by about 30% from last year. Speaking to DH, Dinesh, a vendor from Tumakuru, said, "Every year, we set up a stall at this fair. Last year, we were hit by the note ban. Compared to last  year, the business is satisfactory this time. Like every year, this year too there is a good response to the fair."

Other than varieties of groundnuts, puffed rice, sugar candies and spicy beans added a rural aura to the fair right in the heart of the city. Traffic was brought to a halt  on Bull Temple Road, which was crowded by lakhs of people.

According to the vendors, though there are different stores across the fair, groundnut remains the most sought-after.  Organisers are expecting a footfall of nearly five lakh and a business of about Rs 1 crore.