Aditya Ankur, Tezpur: Tezpur Litchi Festival 2025 held at the auditorium of Indian Red Cross Society, Sonitpur Chapter at Ganeshghat area here on Tuesday with a daylong programme showcasing varieties of nationally acclaimed Tezpur Litchis and discussion on prospects and challenges of Tezpur Litchi. The key highlights of the programme were unlocking the having GI tag that are unlocking the potential of GI Tag of Tezpur Litchi, Opportunities and challenges, Exhibition cum sale and Tezpur Litchi tour. The daylong mega Litchi Festival supported by Sonitpur district administration and organised in collaboration with Rivtra, Red Cross society, Tezpur, NERAMAC, North East Chambers’ of commerce and Industries, Asamiya Bebosayee Unnayan Parishad was started at 10 Am with tribute to the first mayor/ chairman of Tezpur Municipal board, eminent litterateur, Padmnath Gohain Baruah who first planted variety of litchi plant in and around Tezpur town during 1923. The event was formally inaugurated by DC, Sonitpur, Ankur Bharali Alongwith other event exhibitions of a variety of litchis like sahi, bombiya, piyaji, chines, rangiya, kat-bombiya etc. was a crowd pulling session. It is to be mentioned here that Tezpur Tezpur litchi is better known for its distinctive size, shape, flavour, taste, and juicy pulp unique to this area which contains 60 percent juice, 8 percent rag, 19 percent seed, and 13 percent skin. Its high pulp and juice content make it ideal for making squash and packaged juice. Each bite of Tezpur litchi captures the essence of historic Tezpur city. As per agricultural department’s study the fertile soil and perfect climatic conditions in Tezpur create an ideal environment for these luscious fruits to thrive which is grown entirely under organic conditions, without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Notably, it is famous for its special varieties, such as those grown around Paltan Pukhuri and the Paruwa Litchi garden. Besides this the litchi cultivation is common in many households in and around Tezpur city witnessing the popular varieties like Bombaya, Bilayati, Desi, Piyaji, etc. record says that litchi gardening at Lichu Pukhuri was first established by Padmanath Gohain Baruah between 1922 and 1924, during his tenure as chairman of the Tezpur Municipal Board. In Porowa, approximately 400 bighas of land are dedicated to litchi farming, with the Paruwa litchi orchard founded by Late Surjya Prasad Singh in 1954. Litchis from Paruwa are exported across the country. Few years back Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma flagged off a consignment of 650 kg of Tezpur Litchi to London. Since then, various Tezpur litchi varieties, including Bombaiya, Bilati, and Shahi, have garnered widespread international acclaim for their unique taste and flavour. PM Modi had also sent an appreciation letter to Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma praising the taste of Tezpur Litchi. Based on all these, Tezpur Litchi the pride of Assam was granted Geographical Indication (GI) Tag in 2015 as recognition to its unique taste and flavour confirming that this delicious and high juicy fruit originates from Tezpur area. However, keeping pace with this the district administration here with other responsible stakeholders decided to celebrate the Litchi Festival 2025 and which will be celebrated every year for continuing critical studies on how to make the farmer more successful commercially impacting on the tourism sector and employment generating field. The event conducted by senior journalist Pankaj Baruah was graced by a host of dignitaries including Dr Pritam Deb, Professor and Chairman of Intellectual Property Rights Cell of Tezpur University and member of GI Tag Committee, President of Sonitpur Zila Sahitya Sabha, Dr. Bhupen Saikia, Joint Director of Sonitpur District agricultural department, Naren Chandra Sarma, CEO, Sonitpur Zila Parishad, Karabi Saikia Karan, ADC, Kabita Kakati Konwar and the key officials from the partner organizations including Biswajt Saikia,Bikram Kalita , Abdul Jalil and several others. Earlier noted social worker Hemanta Lahkar in his welcome address highlighted the Tezpur Litchi’s name and fame and its commercial viability in the region. Attending the programme as distinguished guest Dr Pritam Deb discussed several key issues of Tezpur litchi highlighting its challenges. Dr. Deb said that Tezpur Litchi has completed ten years of having the GI Tag which needs to be reviewed after every ten years. He further added that at present Tezpur Litchi needs continuous increase of production throughout the years and quality of the Litchi is also to be assessed and monitored by a quality assessment committee.
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