Oranges, Manipur’s other trademark

Manipur is not just about about insurgency, bandhs, blockades and blasts. The state is gearing up for the ninth state-level Orange Festival, to be held on December 14 and 15 at Tamenglong, about 140 km west of the capital. While the festival will see various interesting events such as traditional games and sports, an orange eating competition, the Orange Queen contest and various entertainment programmes, its biggest attraction is the “best orange” contest, for which the farmer gets a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. Tamenglong, also a district, accounts for about 70 per cent of Manipur’s annual orange production, which is estimated at about 10,000 tonnes. Tamenglong is marked by evergreen forests, a wide variety of wildlife and a number of waterfalls.