With new leaves and flushes, litchi trees in Muzaffarpur, the litchi capital of India, are all set to produce one of the season’s juiciest fruits. Orchard owners are hoping for a bumper crop, as are proprietors of processing units.
Inside the sprawling office of the National Research Centre on Litchi (NRCL) here, scientists and researchers are busy experimenting in an effort to boost the yield of this cash crop.
Life in Muzaffarpur is sweet, save for the bitter taste left behind by a recent report in the Lancet Global Health. The report held “toxins” in litchis and skipping of meals responsible for the deaths of children in Muzaffarpur district every summer.
“Many variations”
“There are many variations in the report besides inaccurate findings…the report can have academic purposes, but it’s inconclusive and incomplete,” said NRCL director Vishal Nath.
Sitting in a spacious office, Dr. Nath said he had gone through the Lancet report and found that it was a “superficial study that left many questions unanswered”.
“If children are dying after consuming litchi and skipping meals in Muzaffarpur, why are children not dying in other places where litchis are grown as well? Why have cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome [AES] in children been recorded from Gaya district, where litchis are not cultivated? Why were very few AES cases reported from Muzaffarpur in the last two years despite good litchi seasons? ” said the NRCL director.
NRCL senior scientist Sushil Kumar Purbey added: “If AES occurs due to consumption of litchi, how come children below the age of one year, who cannot eat litchi, be affected? Also, how can only one child in an entire village be afflicted by AES when others from the same age group and family background consumed the fruit from the same orchard?”
“Unidentified virus”
“In our view, an unidentified virus, the hot climatic condition prevalent at the time of the year along with rampant malnutrition and lack of hygiene might have led to AES, leading to the deaths of these children,” said Dr. Nath.
While China is the largest producer of litchi, Muzaffarpur, with an area of 10,000 hectare and total production of one lakh tonnes, contributes to 35% of the total litchi production in Bihar. The State contributes over 65% of the total litchi production in the country and occupies nearly 40% of the area under litchi plantation.
Five of the biggest litchi processing units in Muzaffarpur export their products to Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. However, 60% of products from Muzaffarpur go to Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab and other States. No less than two lakh people in the district are dependent directly or indirectly on litchi cultivation, said a group of NRCL researchers.
Bhola Nath Jha and Bhawani Shankar are two famous litchi orchard owners at Muzaffarpur. Spread over 18 acres, Mr. Jha’s orchard in Jhapaha village has 700 litchi tress, while Mr. Shankar’s 36-acre orchard in Bochaha block has 14,00 trees.
“Litchi production in Muzaffarpur is about 400-year-old. People have been eating this ‘queen of fruits’ since then. There’s absolutely no connection between litchi and the deaths of children every year in the crop season. There must be some vested interests behind this rumour, like traders from other States,” said septuagenarian Mr. Jha. There are fears among those involved in the industry that the Lancet report will affect the business adversely.
“The stakes are very high as there is just one month left before business begins. If rumours start at this time in the season, we will be hit hard,” said Rajkumar Kedia, who has set up one of the biggest litchi processing units in Muzaffarpur.
Doctors disagree
Meanwhile, doctors at the local Krishnadevi Deviprasad Kejriwal Maternity Hospital, the chief referral medical centre in Muzaffarpur where most of AES-affected children go for treatment, too disagree with the Lancet report.
“The first case of AES came to our hospital in 1995 and we’ve been monitoring this disease since. However, saying that litchi is the reason for their deaths is an exaggeration,” said the chief administrator of the hospital.
