HC notice to Odisha, Bengal over GI tag for rasagola

In November last year the Geographical Indications registry office in Chennai had granted GI tag for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ triggering protests from Odisha

As Odisha and West Bengal slug it out over their favourite sweet rasagola, the Odisha High Court on Wednesday served notice to both the states over a PIL seeking scrapping of the geographical indication (GI) tag to ‘Banglar Rosogolla’.

A PIL in Odisha High Court sought GI tag for ‘Odishara Rasagola’ and the scrapping of the GI tag received by West Bengal. (Reuters File Photo)

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products that corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin, such as a town, region, or country.

In November last year the Geographical Indications registry office in Chennai had granted GI tag for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ triggering protests from Odisha. In February this year, Odisha moved the GI Registry for its own version of Rasagola.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the HC served notices to Odisha chief secretary, West Bengal State Council of Science & Technology, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and the Chennai Intellectual Property Office.

Susanta Sahu, secretary of Punya Utkal Foundation and Santosh Kumar Sahoo, editor of Odia Parba, had filed the PIL in Odisha High Court on February 5 seeking GI tag for ‘Odishara Rasagola’ and scrapping the GI tag received by West Bengal.