Mangoes worth Rs 60 crore were destroyed in West Bengal’s Malda district by a hailstorm — which lashed the district last week — amid the nationwide lockdown, officials told on Monday.
Malda, also known as English Bazar in West Bengal, is famous for multiple varieties of mangoes. The city harvest mangoes in more than 31,000 hectares area.
Rahul Chakraborty, the assistant director of the horticulture and food processing department in Malda said, “The hailstorm has destroyed around 60,000 metric tonnes of mango in the district in two days – April 19 and 20. The early variety of Langra, Gopalbhog and Lakshmanbhog were hard hit. It’s worth around Rs 60 crore.”
The estimated value of mango trade in Malda is Rs 600 crore every year. Almost 4.5 lakh people of the district have been directly or indirectly affected, who were involved in production and trade due to the heavy loss associated with mango business.
The town produces more than 250 varieties of Indian’s favorite fruit and half of the produce is usually shipped to other states like Kolkata, Assam, and other districts in Bengal.
(With input from PTI)