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The Lucknow Mango Festival ended in chaos as visitors stuffed mangoes into their bags and pockets. Ironically, the same mango varieties were on sale just outside the venue
Over 800 varieties of mangoes, including famed names like Dussehri, Langra, Chaunsa, and Alphonso, were displayed during the three-day event. (News18 Hindi)
What began as a vibrant celebration of the “king of fruits” ended in public embarrassment at the annual Lucknow Mango Festival, held from July 4 to 6 at Avadh Shilpgram. The event concluded with chaos as scores of visitors swarmed the mango displays in a frenzy, stuffing the prized fruits into bags, dupattas, sarees, and even their pockets. The scenes, captured on mobile phones and widely shared online, have drawn sharp criticism and sparked a police probe.
The festival, organised by the Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Department, was intended as a showcase of the state’s horticultural pride. Over 800 varieties of mangoes, including famed names like Dussehri, Langra, Chaunsa, and Alphonso, were displayed during the three-day event, inaugurated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The event also featured cultural performances, mango-eating contests, and discussions on fruit cultivation. Among the prominent attendees were poet Kumar Vishwas and Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh.
But the grandeur evaporated in moments on the evening of July 6, when, moments after the formal conclusion of the festival, crowds surged towards the mango stalls. Without warning, they began grabbing mangoes en masse, climbing onto display tables, scooping fruit off the ground, and running off with whatever they could carry. The frenzied scenes bore more resemblance to a street brawl than a state-sponsored cultural event.
Videos from the site show men, women, and even elderly attendees shoving each other aside as they filled plastic bags, scarves, and sarees with mangoes. Some appeared gleeful, grinning as they hoisted their spoils like trophies. One clip shows a man jokingly pretending to cart off an entire display table.
The viral footage quickly gained traction online. One Instagram user sarcastically remarked, “Give me two more minutes and I’ll take the table too,” while another said, “This is why other countries hesitate to give us visas. It’s not poverty, it’s mindset.”
Watch the viral video:
Others blamed the authorities, saying we need to cultivate civic sense. Calls for mandatory moral education in schools also trended in the aftermath.
Adding to the irony was the fact that the same mango varieties that people ransacked at the event were on sale at stalls just outside the venue, at reasonable prices. Despite that, the crowd seemed driven by a mob mentality that the leftover fruit was free to be taken home.
Festival organisers acknowledged a breakdown in crowd control. “We did not anticipate such a massive turnout on the final day. It appears that some announcements during the closing ceremony were misunderstood as a signal that mangoes were being distributed freely,” a senior official admitted.
The Lucknow Police have since launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage to identify individuals involved in the ransacking. A police spokesperson confirmed that they are probing whether the looting was premeditated or a spontaneous act fuelled by misinformation. No arrests have been made so far.
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