Jackfruits rotting in Tripura

Agartala, Aug 2 (UNI) Jackfruit, a major cash crop in Tripura, has been left to rot due to lack of demand this year.

Attempts to brew wine out of it has also not borne fruit.

Villagers of bordering south Tripura said the Border Security Force (BSF) had stopped jackfruit business with neighbouring Bangladesh, which was responsible for the present crisis.

About 246 families of Amzadnagar village in south Tripura had to incur huge losses, as more than 50,000 jackfruits were left to rot in the village over the past one month.

Abhijit Debnath, one of the jackfruit producers in Amzadnagar, told UNI that a huge number of fully ripe jackfruits used to arrive in local markets just for a stopover before being transported to Bangladesh.

''The number of buyers is very less in the local market.

Previously, majority of the product goes to Bangladesh but barbed wire fencing and rigid attitude of BSF is a major obstacle for the villagers now,'' Mr Debnath said.

He said the poverty-stricken families of the village had used stretches where the fencing was yet to come up due to land dispute for their trade. Amzadnagar border was one of them, where the jackfruits fetched more than Rs 50 each.

UNI