MUSSOORIE: Kafal, the state fruit of Uttarakhand, has hit the markets and is being relished by the tourists visiting the queen of hills. However, residents of villages in Jaunpur block are rueing the fact that this year, the production of kafal has been unusually low owing to the erratic weather conditions.
“We saw street vendors selling this red berry-like fruit so we tried it and found that it had a unique and enjoyable taste. Me and my kids relished it,” says Tanmay Aggarwal, a tourist from New Delhi. “This year, due to lack of winter rain and the untimely rain, hail and storm in April and May, the kafal crop was badly affected resulting in poor production,” said Kavita Devi, gram pradhan, Mawana.
She added that a large number of families from Kolti, Mawana, Kafolti and Tuneta villages were engaged in harvesting kafal from the wild and selling it at Mussoorie. “These families earned around Rs 20,000 to 25,000 during May, but this year, due to poor production their income has dipped significantly,” said Kavita. A similar sentiment was expressed by Sandeep Khanna of Bhatoli village, who said that the production of kafal has dipped by more than 50% this year. According to Mohammed Abid, a kafal vender at Mussoorie, there is less availability of the fruit in the market this year. “There is a high demand for kafal among the tourists and even local residents, but we are not getting sufficient supply from the villages,” he said.
Notably, kafal (Myrica esculenta) is a small-sized tree that grows at elevations ranging from 900 to 2,000 metres in Uttarakhand. Its fruiting season commences from early May and continues till mid-June. Owing to its unique taste and medicinal properties, kafal is quite popular among tourists.
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