Mysuru: Mango and jackfruit mela organised in the culture city Mysuru kicked off today drawing huge crowds and the attraction is likely to remain for 3 days.

The mela organised jointly by the State horticultural department and State mango development board at Curzon park caught the imagination of fruit lovers as it carried a sweet message. The focus during the mela is to eliminate the use of chemical calcium carbide, use of plastic and provide a direct link between farmers and buyers thereby eliminating middlemen.

As a first step, the harm caused by calcium carbide was shown where mangoes look attractive on the shelves, but are not advisable for consumption. In addition cloth bags were provided at a cost of Rs 3 and the farmers were given a discount of 50% on corrugated boxes for packing the end product.

Varieties of mangoes like Badami, Raspuri, Mallika and Jeera were on display along with several others. Farmers from Mysuru, Mandya, Chamrajnagar and Ramnagar are taking part in the 3-day weekend event which began on May 27 and there are 41 stalls displaying varieties of mangoes and jackfruits.

Visitors to the mela will get an opportunity to savour mangoes grown and processed by natural methods and farmers will get rich dividends for their produce.

It’s time to turn towards the Curzon park fruit mela for a fruit bite! The ones who cannot visit can appreciate the efforts of the concerned State departments to make Mysuru, a plastic free city.