Watermelon farmers get peanuts for their produce

Farmers who cultivated watermelon in and around Polali, situated about 20 km from Mangaluru, are unable to reap the benefits of harvest due to the lockdown.

The watermelon cultivated here is known for its unique taste and texture and is offered as a 'prasadam' to the Goddess Rajarajeshwari at Polali temple during the annual fair, held from mid March to mid April.

According to the belief, when Goddess Rajarajeshwari severed the head of demon Raktabeejasura, he pleaded the goddess to forgive him. The goddess in turn said that he would continue to live in watermelons, symbolising the head of the demon, that were grown in the region.

Watermelons are offered to the deity during the festival and then sold to the devotees. These watermelons are distributed to devotees at the temple as ‘prasadam’ during the annual fair. The hard rind and the blood-red colour of the fruit is an unique feature of the watermelon cultivated here. With the lockdown, there is no demand for the watermelon cultivated by the farmers.

Around 70 to 80 farmers cultivate watermelon at Polali, Malali, Kariyangala and Ammunje villages surrounding the temple.

The sowing is done only after offering prayers to Goddess Rajarajeshwarai on the day of Makara Sankranti and the fruit is ready to be harvested during temple fair. With the lockdown imposed to check spread of COVID-19, the temple fair has become a low- key affair without devotees. As a result, there is no demand for the watermelons cultivated by the farmers. During the annual fair, the watermelons are not sold in kilograms but the prize is fixed depending on the size of the watermelon. A huge watermelon is sold somewhere between Rs 300 to Rs 500.

A majority of the farmers would succeed in selling the fruit before the end of the fair in the past.

“Without the fair, we are just selling the harvest for petty amount. I had spent around Rs 60,000 for cultivating the watermelons. I am not sure of getting even half the amount invested in cultivating them,” Prasanna, a farmer from Malali, told DH.