Sounds bizarre but a farmer from Bihar Ashok Chaudhary has developed a fairly new variety of mango which he claims is so wonderful in taste and lovely in the colour that one can forget the pains of corona disaster just after having a slice of the fruit!

The 60-year-old farmer from Bhagalpur is popular as “Mango Man” among the local villagers for his unique campaign to save the rare varieties of mangoes and develop many new ones using grafting technology.

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While the rest of the country remained locked in their homes battling Coronavirus over the past one-and-a-half month, the “Mango Man” remained busy searching for a suitable name for his newly-grown variety of mango that he recently developed after many efforts. Although the good-sized pink mangoes kept hanging from the branches, they lacked a name. Ultimately, he named them “Lockdown” mangoes.

“Initially, I wanted to name it as Corona Warrior but dropped my idea later thinking the word ‘Corona’ attached to mango could deter the buyers away. Finally, I decided to name it as ‘Lockdown’ in the honour of countrymen who remained locked in their homes facing all these difficulties bravely,” Chaudhary told The Statesman over the phone today. He said the fruit would be ready in July.

Chaudhary said he had developed the new variety with the help of Irwin and Sensation varieties of mangoes from the US and several other varieties from different states in India. The new variety of the mango, he revealed, is rich in the pulp, unmatchable in sweetness, wonderful in colour and has a pleasant smell.

“You will automatically get attracted by its tantalising aroma,” he claims.

Chaudhary has his mango orchard spread over in 15 acres of land and he earns something between Rs 8 and Rs10 lakh every year by the sale of mangoes. He is the man also credited with popularising the aromatic Jardalu mangoes being sent to the President, Prime Minister and other such dignities every year.

But what has earned kudos for Chaudhary is his campaign to conserve several old varieties of mangoes grown in the countryside. His campaign has been going on since 1992. According to him, he has conserved more than 20 varieties of such mangoes and developed dozen other new varieties. Right now, more than 100 varieties of mangoes are available in his orchard.

His initiative has seen 500 percent growth in the area of mango orchards in the region which has boosted the economic condition of the local mango growers. He said many farmers have shifted to mango cultivation as this fetches handsome cash for everyone. “There is low expenditure but high yields in mango cultivation,” he said.

He said the life of the local villagers had undergone a complete metamorphosis post shifting to mango cultivation. Now they are not only having a luxurious life but also able to find suitable grooms for their daughters. On average, every farmer has been earning something between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh every year by the sale of mangoes from their orchards.