GUR MAHOTSAV (JAGGERY FESTIVAL)

About: 

• Muzaffarnagar is arguably the biggest mandi (marketplace) of gur in Asia. Here the farmers produce around 60 varieties of it. 
  
  
• Duration: The three-day festival is scheduled to begin on May 30. 
  
  
• Objective: 
  • It promises to bring together different stakeholders involved in the research, production and marketing of jaggery. 
    
    
  • It will focus on issues such as packaging and marketing of jaggery and sugarcane juice, more efficient prototypes of crushers and ways to increase the production of organic gur. 
    
    
  • The festival aims to address gur versus sugar debate. Gur has medicinal properties and some feel that using gur in tea is healthier than adding sugar. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Parent programme: The event is being organised under the Uttar Pradesh government’s ‘one district, one product’ scheme, in partnership with private players.