Two-day indigenous food and crop fair opens in Mirpur with hill delicacies on offer

A two-day 'Indigenous Food and Crop Fair' has begun at Mirpur 13 in the capital Dhaka. The fifth edition of the fair was formally inaugurated on Friday (November 6) on the premises of the Parbatya Bouddha Sangha Complex. A press release from the organising committee said the fair was jointly organised by the private organisation Nagorik Udyog and Adibasi Suhrid.

Speaking as chief guest at the inauguration, Dipen Dewan, member of parliament from Rangamati hill district and a former minister of the Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs ministry, said the initiative to present indigenous food habits to the rest of the country's people was highly commendable. He said the fair would show that ethnic groups other than Bengalis also live in Bangladesh.

Dipen Dewan added that the diverse food habits of indigenous peoples are a national asset and at the same time enrich the country's diversity.

In his chair's speech, Nagorik Udyog executive director Zakir Hossain said a separate market for indigenous products would be created in Dhaka in the future through this initiative. In his view, these small initiatives will help other ethnic groups embrace indigenous culture as their own.

The inaugural ceremony, hosted by cultural worker Tanaya Dewan, was also addressed by Shirin Parveen Haq, former head of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission and a human rights activist, and rights activist Mainthin Promila.

The press release said shopkeepers have set out a wide range of indigenous products at the fair. Popular hill items including bamboo shoot and various hebang dishes cooked in banana leaves, along with tasty dishes made from jum vegetables, are available. Visitors can also taste pajon, a popular food of the hill tracts region.

The fair also features diverse foods of the plains' indigenous peoples, with Manipuri, Garo and Rakhine communities presenting their own dishes. Rakhine food lovers have brought different kinds of pitha made from black and white binni rice.

Like Friday, the fair will remain open to visitors on Saturday from 10am to 9pm. An indigenous cultural programme has been arranged at the fair every evening.