SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 24: The Deoghar administration has set September 30 as the last date for registration of Peda traders with the District Industry Department for the GI (Geographical Indication) tagging of their product.
Deputy commissioner of Deoghar Manjunath Bhajantri on Friday said, “ The process of GI tagging of the Babadham peda will ensure national and international recognition of these products. All the small and big traders associated with Peda trade in the district are being registered so that they can use the GI tag (logo) on their products for selling them in the national and international markets.” He has also directed to educate Peda traders about the benefits of GI tag so that maximum of them could be associated with it and maintain quality of product.
As per official records of the District Small Scale Cottage Industry Board (DSSCIB), there are 100 permanent big and small Peda shops at Babadham and Ghormara in the Deoghar district. Each trader sells around 50 to 100 kg pedas per day. The sale increased many folds during Sawan and Bhado Mela when additional 100 shops also came up.
Devotees who come to Babadham for darshan take away the peda as prasad for their friends and relatives. Normally, around 20 to 25 thousand devotees visit for Puja of Baba Baidyanath, but during Sawan, this figure crosses the 1 lakh benchmark per day.
Neeraj Kumar, the coordinator of DSSCIB, said that the GI tag would enhance sales of Peda to a great extent. “At present, people of hardly four to five states know about the Peda Prasad of Deoghar. But after getting the GI tag it will be famous across the country and abroad,” he added.
The coordinator also informed that the sale of Peda in the last two years has decreased due to the Corona pandemic as Baba Baidyanath temple was closed for devotees. But after GI tagging, online sale of Peda across the country would continue even in pandemic situations and help the sale to grow.
