Bhubaneswar: In the wake of criticism and flak in the social media over the West Bengal government getting the GI tag for “Banglar Rasagolla,’’ the state government has decided to apply for Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Orissa-made Rasagolla.
Development Commissioner (DC) R Balakrishnan Wednesday held a high-level meeting in this regard and asked the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department to file the application for the state made Rasagolla with the GI registry.
Banglar Rasagolla has been registered with GI on an application filed by the West Bengal government. This only provides GI tag to Banglar Rasogolla that is specific to West Bengal.
“Very soon, we will file the application to the GI authority in this regard for Orissa,” said MSME secretary LN Gupta.
There is historical mention of Rasagolla’s association with traditions and practices relating to Lord Jagannath. Rasagolla has been traditionally offered as bhog to goddess Lakshmi at the Jagannath Temple, Puri and this ritual is known as Bachanika, Gupta said.
Registration of GI for Banglar Rasagolla no way affects the claim for GI registration of ‘Odishara Rasagolla’. The Bengal and Orissa items are different in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of manufacturing, said official sources.
The Orissa-made Rasagolla is softer and light brown in colour while Banglar Rasogolla is white and cream in colour. The syrup used in both the variants is also different, the sources added.
It was learnt that as an illustration, similar products and goods that are essentially the same kind of product still exist as a separate GI due to the virtue of their geographical origin, distinctiveness and uniqueness.
Some examples of this, officials said, are Tirupathi Laddu and Bandar Laddu, Darjeeling Tea and Kangra Tea, Mizo Chilli and Bhiwapur Chilli and Laxman Bhog Mango and Banaganapalle Mango.
GI Tag is an intellectual property identifier for a product. GI is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin e.g. a town, a region or a country and possesses qualities or reputation that are due to that origin.
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