Children in Odisha forced to drink local beverage ‘salapa’ to “ward off” coronavirus

Video of incident goes viral

July 21, 2020 02:08 pm | Updated 02:09 pm IST - BHUBANESWAR

Children were asked to sit in a row and served salapa one by one.

Children were asked to sit in a row and served salapa one by one.

Gullible villagers in Odisha’s Malkangiri district recently fell prey to an uncorroborated suggestion that drinking a local beverage called salapa would keep COVID-19 at bay.

The video of children being served salapa , a drink made of juice extracted from Salap tree ( Caryata urens ), has since gone viral. The incident took place at remote Parasanpali village under Moteru gram panchayat a week ago.

“All villagers had participated in a marriage that had taken place in our village about a week ago. It is our tradition to take salapa drink to celebrate the occasion. After seniors sipped their share of salapa , one elderly man suggested that coronavirus would not touch children if they took the beverage,” said Sukha Kabasi, a villager of Parasanapli, over phone on Tuesday.

Subsequently, children were asked to sit in a row and served salapa one by one. Although fresh salapa is not harmful, the fermented version, which is used as an intoxicant, can cause food poisoning. The video clip shows children being forced to take salapa in leafy bowls.

The southern Odisha district of Malkangiri has so far reported 306 COVID-19 positive cases. Where there are 145 active cases, 161 persons have recovered from COVID-19. No death has been reported from the district.

Superstition still prevails in remote villages of Malkangiri. A couple of days ago, a pregnant woman was force-fed pig excreta and her face was burnt by a witch doctor as she was keeping ill. Last year, another witch doctor had bit a woman at multiple points as part of his treatment. People are often killed by fellow villagers over accusation of practising black magic.

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