Mouth-watering litchis from Mongalbaria
Two workers sort litchis at an orchard at Mongolbari village in Pakundia upazila of Kishoreganj district as the village, famous for producing tasty and large varieties of the delicious summer fruit, is now abuzz with activities during ripening of the fruit.Photo: STAR
Mongalbaria village under Pakundia upazila in the district has assumed a festive look as the villagers are busy plucking and selling their special variety litchis. Popular for its mouth-watering taste, special red colour, big size and thick pulp with smaller seed, Mongalbaria litchi attracts traders from different places including Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet during this season. The profitable fruit cultivation has brought about a change in the densely populated village. There is no house in the village without a few litchi trees. The number of trees in the village would be at least 20 thousand, said litchi grower Saiful Islam. However, there is no big litchi garden in the village for lack of big space. "There are 1,500 small litchi gardens in the village. The growers have raised them on yards, banks of ponds, beside roads and other available places. We just provide advice for protection against attack by pests and diseases and proper use of fertiliser," Sabbir Ibne Jahan, agriculture officer of Pakundia upazila, said. Locals said the villagers make a profit of around one and a half crore taka by selling litchis. The village has seen litchi cultivation for hundreds of years but Towhid Mia showed the way for litchi cultivation on yards several years ago. Inspired by his success of in producing good quality litchis on a small piece of land, many others become interested and started growing the trees on their yards. Mukhlesur Rahman, a farmer earn about Tk one lakh a year from his 20 small trees grown around his house. Hashim Mia earned about Tk 25,000 from one big tree. This year they are selling litchis at Tk 200 to 220 per hundred to traders. The price should be higher but they have to sell the fruit for prices offered by traders because the communication of the area is not good. Litchi growers of Mongalbaria have sought help from the authorities for easy transport and marketing of their product so that they can get fair price.
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