The Odisha government is mulling applying for geographical indication registration for the Rasagola associated with Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, as it will be easier to support the application with historical evidence.
Soon after the West Bengal government secured the GI registration for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’, senior Odisha officials got into a hurdle to chart out the next course of action for registration of ‘Odishara Rasagola’.
The West Bengal and Odisha variants of the sweet are different in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of preparation. The ‘Odishara Rasagola’ is softer and light brown in colour, whereas the Bangalar Rasogolla is white or off-white. The syrup used in both the variants is also different.
Legal opinion
The Odisha government had sought opinions of two top law firms having rich experience in handling patent cases.
Basing on their opinion, the State Industries Department has made up its mind in favour of the Rasagola associated with Shree Jagannath Temple. The State government realised that ‘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’.
Moreover, according to the views of K&S Partners Intellectual Property Attorneys, Pahala Rasgolas are brown, soft (not spongy), not very sweet and also, they do not have shelf life beyond a day due to thin sugar syrup.
Research papers
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 the take the decision to consider all coastal districts – Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, Kendrapara and Nayagarh – as a region to represent the claim of local manufacturer for GI tag registration.
