Kolkata's Orange Festival to promote Darjeeling oranges

EOI, SILIGURI, 23 Oct 2016: Come December and the people of Kolkata will get an excellent opportunity to taste the exotic and sweet orange of Darjeeling as well as delicious cuisines from the hills. 

The second Himalayan Orange Festival & Rural Tourism Bazaar will be held from December 4 to 6 in Kolkata and it is being organised by the Association for Conservation & Tourism in collaboration with City Centre, Salt Lake. The rural tourism communities of Darjeeling, the Dooars and even eastern Nepal and southern Bhutan will be participating in the event. 

ACT convener Raj Basu said the three-day fest is aimed at boosting rural tourism and exchanging the various cultures and traditions of the east Himalayan region. 
Orange growers will be awarded on the basis of the quality of their produce with the parameters including size, shape, quantity of juice and sweetness of the fruit. Besides the popular citrus fruit, various traditional foods from the hills and the Terai-Dooars, such as momo, thukpa, butter tea, dried-fish dishes and many other popular items will be available at the stalls. 
This year, 20 models from north Bengal and Sikkim will walk the ramp in Kolkata adorning East Himalayan attire to promote tourism through fashion. Local designer Alka Sharma will be making the costumes for the models that will include married women as well.