Lucknow's first jaggery festival likely next month

Famous for its culture, tradition, monuments and delicious food, Lucknow will be holding a jaggery festival or the 'Gur Mahotsav' for the very first time in the month of February. While the exact dates of the event are still not finalised, but, it is expected that the festival could take place on February 13 and 14, said a government press statement.

"The jaggery festival was scheduled to take place last year but it could not be held due to the pandemic. It will be taking place this year now. The date for the event, however, is still not finalised. The sugar industry and sugarcane development department has started gearing up for this big event," said additional chief secretary, sugarcane development department, Sanjay Bhoosreddy in the statement.

Last week, Bhoosreddy held a meeting, where the format and purpose of the Gur Mahotsav was discussed in detail. "The government is sparing no efforts for the publicity of the event so that more and more people can join the festival and become aware of the quality and range of jaggery," read the statement.

The festival will be showcasing the branding of jaggery and its related products. Progressive sugarcane farmers from every corner of the state will be invited and it is expected that many specialist producers of the agriculture and food processing sector will also visit the festival and share their knowledge.

"It will have stalls of jaggery chocolates, sweets, candies, and kheer. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Sugarcane Research Institute have jointly prepared chocolates and other products from jaggery in different flavours," said the statement.

According to experts, this natural sweetening food has enormous health benefits. Along with its medicinal properties, 'Gur' is a rich source of energy, and many nutrients including iron, calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin A and B are also found in sufficient amounts in Gur. Malnutrition can also be eliminated by fortifying jaggery with vitamins according to the need, the statement said.

Jaggery is the ODOP (one district, one product) product of Muzaffarnagar and Ayodhya and the Gur Mahotsav has already been organised in Muzaffarnagar. Muzaffarnagar has over a hundred jaggery processed products and these products will be displayed in the 'Gur Mahotsav'. Farmers who will visit the event will be made aware of them. Also, interested farmers will be given training in this regard later, said the statement.