Motihari: With the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) claiming nearly 180 lives in Bihar, there has been a sharp decline in the sale of lychees across the state. While an article published in a major medical UK journal 'The Lancet', held lychees responsible for the outbreak, the sales of the seasonal fruit have gone down drastically, hitting the business community.
Incidentally, Bihar attributes to 45 per cent of lychees produced in India. The East Champaran area in Bihar produces the major share of the total production. However, due to the outbreak of AES, lychee farmers who export their products are incurring huge losses.
While doctors claimed that lychees are not responsible for AES, the business still remains affected. Citing a reason behind it, the doctors had earlier said that lychees are consumed by children from both rich and poor section of the society.