48th Mango Festival 2013 in Mirpurkhas

 The Mango and summer fruits festival 

is an important annual event of district Mirpurkhas that is organized regularly since 1965 with full enthusiasm and fervor. It provides competitive environment to the growers, festivity to the citizens of Mirpurkhas and provide a change to the exporters to make their contacts. Mirpurkhas is a district of great horticultural wealth and holds a place of prominence in the country both for the area and the quality of Mangoes in particulars. Crop of Mangoes in Mirpurkhas are cultivated one month before the other parts of the country. Informal show was started on small scale by the local mango enthusiasts in 1957 here, however the formal show was held in June 1965 that was inaugurated by Governor of West Pakistan Late Malik Amir Mohammad Khan. Since then it is being organized regularly graced by many political leaders’ army personnel and senior bureaucrats. District administration, agricultural extension department and horticulture research institute Mirpurkhas, Municipal committee, district council and few social workers organized it every year from 1965 to 1999. After that, export promotion bureau, government of Pakistan took over its sponsorship financially.

In the year 2000 the export promotion bureau government of Pakistan through its vice chairman Mr Masood Alam Rizvi , a former deputy commissioner of Mirpurkhas and director general export promotion bureau Mr Sikander Ali Keerio took keen interest and gave a new to this show by inviting foreign delegates and mango purchasers. Main objectives of this Mango show are to encourage progressive mango growers, creating sense of healthy competition , to aware the farming community with recent development in the horticulture especially in fruits, improving the quality, grading, packing , marketing of mangoes, exporting mangoes directly from Mirpurkhas Sindhri airport sothat the local farmers and traders be benefited and to justify the nomenclature of the city of mangoes and NGOs. The 48th annual National Mango and summer fruits festival Mirpurkhas was held from 4th June to 6th June 2013 in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazeer Bhutto Mango exhibition hall. Large number of people including women and children enjoyed to look over multiple varieties of Mangoes and other summer fruits displayed through stalls in the festival.

Over 500 gardeners and owners of mango orchards over all Sindh province including Mirpurkhas , Tando Allahyar, Umerkot, Tharparkar, Matiari, Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Ghotki, Noshehroferoz, etc were registered and setup their stalls for display of Mangoes and other summer fruits in the festival . People participated the exhibition throughout the country as foreigners have also visited the exhibition. Over 200 hundred different varieties of Mangoes  including Sindhri, Langra,Dusheri, Neelum , Anwer Ratol, Bangan Pali, Gulab Khasa, Chaunsa, Saleh Bhai, Siroli, Alphansa, Zafran, Swarnarica, collector, Desi etc were put in the exhibition . Along with this exhibition, for recreation of women and children Meena Bazaar and different sports competitions including special children competitions were also held. On this occasion , strict security arrangements were made as heavy contingents of police were deployed in surrounding of the exhibition place and other places of its events. This exhibition has become a national event now while there is a need of introducing post harvest technology and providing adequate facilities in Mirpurkhas to increase the export of mangoes from this city. Mangoes are cultivated at 6895 hectors in district Mirpurkhas and it is cultivated at 52079 hectors in Sindh province, its total production is 368066 tones in Sindh province.

There is a need of adopting modern technology to be able to increase export of mangoes and getting more national exchequer.Owners of mango orchards should look after their orchards and acquire information from agriculture department for proper care of mango plants. on June 6th prizes and shields were distributed among the succeeded owners of the Mango orchards and gardeners. Approximately over 50000 people including women and children came to see this exhibition and enjoyed also with Meena Bazaar and different sports competitions.