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No coconuts for Ranchi
Ranchi Municipal Corporation plays health conscious, bans coconuts.
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
October 14 2006
The hullabaloo created following the Cola ban and the events that happened later, is yet to fade off from people’s minds. A fresh new addition seems to be brewing with a municipal corporation in India deciding to clamp a ban on a natural product.
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation has suddenly catapulted into big time news by banning the sale of good old coconuts in the
Jharkhand capital. And yes, they have a valid reason to pronounce the ban.
Authorities in Ranchi have banned the sale of coconuts and have begun a cleaning drive to clear the city of its shells after six cases of dengue were detected. According to the RMC officials, empty coconut shells could lead to the breeding of the aedes aegypti mosquito that carries the dengue virus Reports quoting R S Verma, administrator of RMC, said that the sale of coconuts was banned considering the fact that dengue vector mosquitoes are found on heaps of peeled green coconut shells. The report added that the ban will remain effective only for a short period.
The corporation has also kickstarted a mega operation to clear the Jharkhand capital of all coconut shells to prevent an outbreak of the disease. It may be noted here that the disease has already claimed 52 lives in the country.
Green coconut vendors in the Jharkhand capital are, however, a worried lot. Saying that this is the first time that the sale of green coconuts has been banned in Ranchi, a vendor said he had been making a living out of coconuts for the last 25 years. He sees darkness before him.
Many a vendor has been forced to cancel orders they have given out for green coconuts. Little do they understand why such a drink which is sought after by jaundice patients is being brought under a ban.
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