People of Kashmir cultivate water chestnuts during winter

People of Kashmir cultivate water chestnuts during winter in the Wular Lake - a harvest could reach a total of nearly 5 million kilograms in the year. One kilogram of raw water chestnuts sells for about 15 rupees, or about 23 U.S. cents. These spiky, triangular shaped water chestnuts have long been a major crop for the people who live near Wular. This is one of Asia's largest freshwater bodies and the largest of the lakes in India-controlled Kashmir.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 24 December 2015.

The marble-sized fruit must be shelled and taken out of their dark brown casings and then dried in the sun until they are crispy and white. They are then shifted to the market. It is a popular item for Kashmiris who eat them raw, roasted or fried during the harsh, snowy winter.
Moreover, they can also be ground into a flour for use by diabetic patients, because it is free of both cholesterol and fat. It is also a food taken by fasting Hindus on days when they are forbidden from eating cereals and pulses. The shells are used as cooking fuel. Already, some researchers are even investigating whether the fruit has cancer-fighting properties.
Water chestnuts are usually ready for harvest from November through February and, at times, entire families work on retrieval of the items. The men thrash the water with boat paddles to separate floating chestnut leaves from other foliage and debris clogging the marshy water. Many families spend weeks together, camping on their boats in the lake, and pick the water chestnuts till their hulls are filled.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Filthy polluted waters of the Yamuna has its plus points for some Delhites

The waters of the Yamuna River in Delhi may be filthy and polluted but, there ae some people who survive in these surroundings – they are the bunch of people who grow water chestnuts in these waters and sell them at Rs 40 per kilogram in the wholesale market.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 28 October 2015.

These people make use of perilous contraptions that they have fabricated out of rubber tubes and, sitting on them, they pull the floating mess of leaves and pluck the water chestnuts also known as singhara or water caltrop.
The innovative farmer hails from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and is the owner of the 40-bigha holding at Rainy Well Thoka Number 13 in east Delhi. He has hardly any competition and there is a great demand for the starchy edible seed.
He has with him a work force of around 10 from his home state who arrive once at sowing time at the outset of the monsoons and then again between September and November at the harvesting time. In Bijnor, water chestnuts are a common sight and practically every other family is into the business.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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