Things to know about Jagannath Rasagola
Odisha govt. consults legal experts, confident of backing claim with historical evidence
The Rasagola of Puri Jagannath Temple has strong historical evidence.
Recently The West Bengal government secured the GI registration for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ and later there was news of Odisha applying GI tag with the name ‘Odishara Rasagola’.
The Odisha government is applying for geographical indication registration for the Rasagola associated with Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri.
The Rasagola of both the states, West Bengal and Odisha are different in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of preparation.While the Rasagola of Odisha is softer and light brown in colour, the Bangalar Rasogolla is white or off-white & the syrup used in both the variants is also different.
‘Pahala Rasagola’, which is produced in a village near Bhubaneswar, does not have enough historical evidence to support it as is available in case of the ‘Jagannath Rasagola’.
It has been suggested that the Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, or the Sevayat Sangh may become the applicant under Section 11 (i) read with Rule 23 of GI of Goods (Registration and Protection Act, 1991). The State government departments may facilitate the process.
The Industries Department further recommended that based on research papers submitted by Asit Mohanty, a litterateur, the government may take the decision to consider all coastal districts – Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, Kendrapara and Nayagarh – as a region to represent the claim of the local manufacturer for GI tag registration.
