The State Food Processing and Horticulture Department is promoting the use and sale of herbal colours for Dol Jatra celebrations.
The herbal aabir, as the colours used in the festivities are called, are manufactured by a self-help group (SHG) and are being sold at Mayukh Bhavan in Salt Lake, which houses the Horticulture Department.
The counter will remain open till today (March 20). The price of the herbal colours has been fixed at Rs 30 per 100 grams.
The members of the SHG responsible for manufacturing the herbal colours have received training from Jadavpur University. The colours are extracted from flowers and mixed with talcum powder and arrowroot to manufacture the finished product, said the head of the SHG.
There are five varieties of aabir – green, orange, pink, yellow and violet, extracted from rose, marigold, palash, aparajita and balsam, respectively.