Orange festival held in Tamenglong

Tamenglong (Manipur), Dec.23 (ANI): Orange growers of Manipur participated in the 5th State level Orange festival recently at Tamenglong, referred to as the orange bowl of the State.

Organised by the Horticulture Development Society of Tamenglong and jointly sponsored tourism department and NRGES, Tamenglong and TAMBAC, the orange festival witnessed enthusiastic participation of orange growers.

There were 132 orange growers who participated in the festival. The ones adjudged to be having the best quality oranges were given awards.

Organised about 174 kilometres from Imphal, the festival's theme was 'Orange for beauty, health and prosperity'. It aimed to promote tourism and provide an opportunity to orange farmers to display their produce before potential buyers

R. Kamlung Panmei, an orange grower, said: "The festival encourages villagers to grow oranges. We hope that in the next 10-20 years, with God's blessings, we will supply oranges all over Manipur, India and even in the International market."

Mary Panmei, another orange grower, said: "Through Orange festival, our oranges are promoted and the world comes to know that there are oranges in Tamenglong."

Orange cultivation has provided a boost to Manipur's economy. The State enjoys advantage of favourable climatic conditions beneficial for the growth of horticulture crops, which has encouraged the cultivation of oranges in a major way.

And, organization of the Orange festival is one such step in this direction.

David Panmei, President of the Horticulture Development Society, Tamenglong, said: "We have organised this orange festival believing that it will help orange growers and also encourage them to grow more oranges."

Besides, adding an extra flavour to the festival, a beauty contest was also organized which saw participation of 27 individuals here. It need to be mentioned that fashion-cum- Beauty pageant has become an indispensable part of the orange festival over the years.

Around 3,838 hectares of land is under orange cultivation in Manipur. But Tamenglong alone contributes over 50 per cent of state's annual total orange production of nearly 10,000 to 11,000 metric tonnes. By L.C.K Singh (ANI)