Odisha was not given a chance to explain its stance, said the petitioner.  

The Geographical Indication (GI) Registry has issued a notice to the West Bengal State Food Processing and Horticulture Development Corporation, asking why the GI recognition given to ‘Banglar Rosogolla’ not be withdrawn.

Reacting to an application for rectification or removal filed by Ramesh Chandra Sahoo, chairperson of the Bhubaneswar-based Regional Development Trust, the GI Registry office in Chennai served this notice to West Bengal.

Questions documents

Through this petition, Mr. Sahoo had objected to the GI status procured by West Bengal for ‘Banglar Rosogolla’ four months ago. He had also questioned the dataprovided by West Bengal for getting the GI tag.

He also said that Odisha was not given a chance to explain its stance when West Bengal applied for the GI status.

Odisha Small Industries Corporation applied for the GI tag for ‘Odisha’s Rasagola’ on January 23 this year. The application includes historical evidence seeking to prove that the famous sweet was part of the offering in Sri Jagannath Temple of Puri at least five centuries ago.

“With the emergence of more and more historical evidences, it is proven that the rasagola had originated in Odisha as a special offering at the Sri Jagannath Temple of Puri. Later, its preparation technique had reached West Bengal and other parts of the country,” said cultural researcher Asit Mohanty, who helped in collecting evidences for the ‘Odisha’s Rasagola’ GI tag application.