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Rediff.com  » News » Bottle gourd is safe, please eat it: Traders

Bottle gourd is safe, please eat it: Traders

By S Niazi
July 26, 2010 18:07 IST
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Vegetable traders in Bhopal are a worried lot. The recent death of a scientist in Delhi after consuming lauki (bottle gourd) juice has left residents of the Madhya Pradesh capital paranoid.

With sales of bottle gourd dropping, traders have now started street plays in different markets, highlighting the benefits of eating bottle gourd.

60-year-old scientist, Sushil Kumar -- a senior deputy secretary in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -- died on July 10 after consuming bottle gourd and bitter gourd juice on an empty stomach. Kumar, a diabetic, had been consuming bottle gourd juice for more than four years.

Before this incident came to light, almost 100 quintals of bottle gourd were sold in Bhopal city every day. Now the figure has fallen by almost 60 per cent.

Bhopal Vegetable Association spokesman Mujahid Siddiqui said, "Nobody is interested in buying bottle gourd. The prices have come down drastically forcing us to organize street plays and create awareness. We are running an awareness campaign in every market."

Before this incident, bottle gourd was selling at Rs 25-30 a kg, but now has come down to Rs 4-5 a kg.  In wholesale its available for just Rs 1-2 a kg.

Vegetable seller Govind Sonane said, "We know about good qualities of bottle gourd. Its good satiety makes it useful for diabetics and heart patients. The recent death could have been the result of chemical contamination from some external source. People have to be made aware about it. Its an effort to tarnish Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's image."

Ramdev has been endorsing the usage of bottle gourd.

''Bottle gourd is being used for centuries for medical treatments in our country. After years study, it was found that the vegetable has tendency to cure ailments like obesity, high blood pressure and heart problems,'' he said in a statement.

He, however, has cautioned the people from drinking mixed juice of bottle gourd and bitter gourd and advised to puke in immediately after using the over-bitter vegetable.

Meanwhile, in Bhopal, artists from the Sharda Kala Kendra are presenting street plays that educate people about cucumber and bottle gourd family, which contain harmful toxins that gives it the bitter taste. The bitter parts of the vegetables should be cut and not consumed and also cooked to destroy the toxins. 

Sharda Rao, one of the artists, said: "In a way, we are also promoting vegetarianism among the masses. I think people should once again start eating bottle gourd. Its not at all life threatening."

Sunil Gaikwad, who regularly had bottle gourd as juice, has stopped its consumption.

"After watching news channels, I am deterred to having it any more. It is dangerous to consume. Excessive use of fertilizers are also the factor for the accumulation of poison," he said.

However, for some, these stories do not matter at all. A regular visitor to Bhopal mandi (wholesale market) Gayatri Tripathi still consumes bottle gourd. "There may be two cases in a million. It can't stop us from using it," she said.

Doctors say that the vegetables and fruits from the cucumber family have harmful toxins called tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins compound, which is responsible for the bitter taste. However, they suggests that old people having diabetes and other problems may go for bottle gourd juice removing the bitter part of the vegetable.

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S Niazi in Bhopal