Kolkata: West Bengal has tasted sweet victory, winning a bitter battle with neighbouring Odisha over the origins of the rosogolla. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said her state had been granted a Geographical Indication or GI status for the popular sweet. “Sweet news for us all. We are very happy and proud that #Bengal has been granted GI... Status for Rosogolla,” Banerjee, currently in London, tweeted.
West Bengal and Odisha have been engaged in a battle over the origin of the spongy balls since 2015, with Odisha claimed the sweet as its own.
The GI under the World Trade Organisation is a sign that identifies a product as originating from a particular place.
State food processing industries and horticulture minister Abdur Razzak Molla said the GI status would boost the state’s sweet industry. “We (West Bengal) were granted the GI status yesterday. We are expecting the hard copy of the letter by tomorrow,” Molla said. “It was a traditional sweet of this region way back when Bengal, Bihar and Odisha were together. So we can say that the rosogolla is very close to the people’s hearts even now, years after the three states were created,” he said. The minister says recognition would boost the state’s sweet makers.
