Beginning of summer was marked by the inauguration of ‘Grapes and watermelon mela’ organised by Horticultural Producer’s Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) at an outlet near Hudson Circle in Bengaluru on February 19.
During the mela, 11 varieties of grapes, including Bangalore Blue, Thomson Seedless, Krishna Sharad, Sonaka, Super Sonaka and three watermelon varieties — Namdari, Kiran and Yellow fleshed watermelon — will be sold at a 10% discount at all Hopcoms outlets.
N. Devaraj, president, Hopcoms, said, “In the current year, we aim to sell 500 metric tonnes of grapes, and 900 metric tonnes of watermelon. We request the people of Bengaluru to take advantage of this special mela.”
While grapes are grown on a total of 36,117 hectares in Karnataka leading to a production of 7.74 lakh metric tonnes, watermelons are grown on 4,700 hectares with a production of 1.92 lakh metric tonnes.
Consumers in Bengaluru look forward to the popular mela mainly owing to the freshness of the produce available in Hopcoms.
V. Nagalingachari, a regular customer of Hopcoms, said “The price is not very less when compared to other retailers despite the 10% discount. It is the freshness of the produce that makes a difference. While getting plenty of varieties at the same place, the mela also benefits farmers. So, we prefer purchasing at Hopcoms.”
