CHAUGACHHA, Jashore — The season for collecting sap from date palm trees to produce Jashore’s GI-tagged jaggery was formally opened in Chaugachha upazila on Sunday.
Upazila Executive Officer Shahinur Akhtar inaugurated the tapping at Hayatpur in Patibila union around 11:45 a.m. Sunday.
Among those present were Assistant Land Office Engineer Tasmin Jahan, Upazila BNP General Secretary and Hakimpur Union Parishad Chairman Masudul Hasan, Upazila BNP Vice-President and Patibila Union Parishad Chairman Ataur Rahman Lal, Chaugachha Press Club General Secretary Azizur Rahman, Upazila Agriculture Officer Musabbir Hussain, Livestock Officer Anwarul Islam, Fisheries Officer Taslima Jebin, Social Welfare Officer Mehedi Hasan, Education Officer Mostafizur Rahman, Women Affairs Officer Anjuman Ara Mahmuda, Cooperative Officer Wahidur Rahman, Project Implementation Officer Shamsunnahar, Food Warehouse Officer Rakibul Islam and local political and social figures.
Tree tapper Abdur Rahman Gazi of Hayatpur village carries out the tapping work. Several other tappers including Kamal Hossain and local farmers were present.
In 2022, then Chaugachha Upazila Executive Officer Irufa Sultana, currently Additional District Magistrate of Jashore, initiated efforts to preserve the heritage of Jashore’s famed date palm jaggery. Her initiatives included date palm fairs, tapper training, tapper assemblies, formation of tapper cooperative societies, and date palm planting and conservation. The same year, she applied for GI registration for Jashore’s famous date palm jaggery. Following her application, the government granted GI status to date palm jaggery in 2023. Since then, an annual date palm jaggery fair has been held at the upazila parishad grounds each January, and this year’s fair will also be held on schedule, according to upazila administration sources.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report