Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu): The coronavirus pandemic is still unravelling and due to this, already, an unprecedented global lockdown is underway. Schools, colleges, malls, theatres, and much more have been shut. Countries are tightening borders and suspending visas, leaving airports empty, flights cancelled and many stranded in a world of globetrotters.
In such a gloomy situation where medical researchers even have repeatedly failed, a sweet shop at Thottipalayam area in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur selling ''special mysorepak'' with 19 herbal ingredients claiming that it would cure coronavirus in just three days.
Following claims made by the sweet stall, the food safety department on Wednesday conducted a surprise raid and cancelled the shop's licence.
The shop has been sealed by Food Safety Department officials on Wednesday. The shop owner had put out advertisements through pamphlets, saying that the ''photo speed corona cure mysorepak'' with 19 herbs would cure COVID-19 patients in three days and a daily consumption by others would boost their immunity. Several people had purchased the sweet, priced at Rs 800 for one kg, over the past two days.
Moreover, the notice also reads, “Our Mysorepak is being prepared to make use of 19 herbs. We are ready to give Mysorepak's formula free of cost to any anyone without any expectation of money or material. We will bring to reality APJ Abdul Kalam's dream of India becoming a superpower and will stand together in ensuring his deceased soul rests in peace.” It has many more shocking details finding a place in it like, “We are also ready to go to the houses where corona positive symptoms are there and give it away for free”.
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Sriram, the owner of sweet stall hails from Coimbatore district. In Thottipalayam area he runs a sweet and savoury shop called, Nellai Lala Sweets. He has created ripples by printing and circulating throughout the town a handbill, which claims Mysorepak sold in his shop, once eaten, can drive away Corona in just a day.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Sweet stall owner Sriram said, "My grandfather was a Siddha practitioner. During the days of bird flu he used to prepare a herbal paste. But for COVID, we thought of preparing a food supplement made mysorepak. We have given it to patients with mild symptoms and they have all recovered well and in one day."
"In a nearby area one boy was suffering from cold fever and I gave him mysorepak of 19 herbs and he was cured just in a day. After eating the mysorepak anyone can feel it's power. This herbal sweet is for those who are suffering from mild symptoms of the corona. In a humanitarian gesture, I have decided to give this formula to the government for free," Sriram said.
Talking about the herbal Mysorepak, Sriram claimed that people with no symptoms can also consume the sweet for boosting immunity. The advertisement further stated that they are ready to share the herbal formula with the central government to produce it in large quantities.
Notably, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India designated Officer K Tamilselvan inspected the shop at the Thottipalayam area and seized 120 kg of the mysorepak. Samples of the sweet were sent for tests and action would be taken against the shop owner. The district Siddha medical officials who were present during the inspection also collected samples of the sweet to analyse the ingredients that were used for its preparation.
False and misleading information has been spreading across social media posts with strict restrictions on movement throughout the country. Many of these remedies have been promoted by several people and companies specifically ward off the coronavirus but there is however no scientific evidence that they are effective.
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