Telangana: Village in a pickle as sarpanch's mango 'pachadi' plan turns sour

HYDERABAD: A sarpanch who distributed traditional mango pachadi (pickle) among 4,000 people has sent an entire village in Mahbubnagar's Nawabpet mandal into a tizzy. Soon after a trader from Shadnagar and a cook who was engaged to make the pickle tested positive for Covid-19, over 100 villagers have been placed under home quarantine.
While health department officials have allayed fears over further spread of the virus, several shops in Kolloor are shut because of the fear of the virus. The villagers even dumped the pickle, fearing it would infect them. Mango pickle is a big draw during summer in all Telugu households.
Sources said 112 villagers have been confined to their homes. Dr K Krishna, district medical and health officer (DM&HO), confirmed that no villager had tested positive thus far. "Don't panic, the situation is under control. Yes, some villagers were scared after tasting the pickle. But, we counselled them that they won't catch the virus by eating the preparation," the DM&HO told TOI.
According to officials, the sarpanch and her husband came up with the idea to distribute pickle among all households in the village. They went to Shadnagar - where many Covid-19 cases have been reported - to meet traders to make mango pickle. Shadnagar is 52 km from Kolloor.
A trader arranged two cooks for preparing the pickle and visited the village. The sarpanch organised mass pickle preparation by engaging 12 persons.
Trader, one of the cooks test +ve; villagers shocked
Two quintals of pickle was prepared. While some tasted it within days, many others didn’t try it as the pickle has a better flavour if it is stored in jars.
The villagers were shocked when they came to know that the trader and one of the cooks tested Covid-19 positive. “The trader along with the cook visited Jiyaguda in Old City of Hyderabad a couple of times before they got the pickle order from the sarpanch. Their samples were taken and tested which came positive,” an official said.
The duo along with others were in Kolloor a few days ago during the pickle making process, officials explained. It was some of the villagers who later brought it to the notice of the officials about the pickle making in their village after the trader and cook had tested positive.