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Lucknow, for the first time, will be holding a Jaggery Festival (Gur Mahotsav) for the very first time sometime next month.
According to the government spokesman, the 'Gur Mahotsav' ' 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. The 'Gur Mahotsav' was scheduled to take place last year but due to the Corona pandemic, it was postponed. The sugar industry and sugarcane development department has started gearing up for this huge event. Additional Chief Secretary, sugarcane development department, Sanjay Bhoosreddy, recently held a meeting in this regard to discuss the format and purpose of the Gur Mahotsav. "The Gur Mahotsav" will have stalls of jaggery chocolates, sweets, candies, and kheer. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Sugarcane Research Institute have jointly prepared chocolate and other products from jaggery in different flavours. This event, which will be held in Lucknow, will not only benefit Ayodhya and towns adjacent to it but will also promote sugarcane farmers of Avadh and Purvanchal regions. They may use sugarcane crops for this diversified endeavour to make jaggery and increase their income. According to experts, this natural sweetening food has enormous health benefits. Apart from its medicinal properties, Gur is a rich source of energy, and has many nutrients including iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A and B in sufficient amounts. Malnutrition can also be treated by fortifying jaggery with vitamins according to the needs. Interestingly, jaggery is the ODOP (One district , one product) product of Muzaffarnagar and Ayodhya and the Gur festival has already been organised in Muzaffarnagar. Muzaffarnagar has over a hundred range of 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, the interested farmers will be given training in this regard later. The Yogi Adityanath government is constantly trying to ensure branding of agro-based products. --IANS amita/ash ( 362 Words) 2021-01-18-14:22:02 (IANS)
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