Nagpur: The wait for citizens longing to cherish the famous and their own santras is finally over. The Orange City received the season’s first santras on Thursday. The Kalamna Market was flooded with the citrus fruit and the visitors could witness heaps and heaps of oranges arranged to satiate the consumers.
The arrival of oranges in the market also hinted the onset of winter. The Nagpur oranges blossom during the Monsoon season in numerous orchards in the district and are ready to be harvested from the month of November or December. The orange crop in Nagpur district grows twice a year. The fruit available from September to December is Ambiya which has a slightly sour taste. It is followed by the sweeter Mrig crop in January. Normally, farmers go for either of the two varieties. The first reason behind Nagpur being called as “Orange City” is that it becomes the main market for the vendors to sell their oranges in Nagpur.
However, ironically most of Nagpurians are deprived of good quality of oranges as the best of the quality fruit is exported to other states and to world market for mopping up hefty money.
The wholesale fruit market at Nagpur has been witnessing the regular flow of oranges from all the nearby parts of the city. The monsoon is the main source of irrigation for farmers in Vidarbha and also a key to ensuring the health of the rural economy. With the ideal rainfall this season, farmers across the region have reaped the bumper harvest of orange and flooded the market in time.
