People Choose ‘Jackfruit Biryani’ & Ditch Chicken, Mutton Due To Coronavirus Scare

The number of people infected by coronavirus in India has risen to 62 today, reports Business Insider. This has caused nation-wide panic or the “coronavirus scare” as some call it. Face masks and hand sanitizers are running out of stock in stores and the poultry industry has taken a beating as prices of chicken, mutton continue to fall. Rumours have spread that one can get infected by COVID-19 by eating meat.

More and more people are now turning to jackfruit to soothe their meat cravings. So much so, that the price of jackfruit has spiked to Rs 120/kg from a humble Rs 50/kg, reports News18.

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Jackfruit is often considered as a healthier and vegan alternative for meat.

“It is better having a ‘kathal’ biryani instead of a mutton biryani. It tastes reasonably good,” says Purnima Srivastava, whose family is a fan of non-vegetarian food.

She claims that jackfruit has become so high in demand that it is difficult to find it in local markets!

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According to Hindustan Times, chicken is being sold at Rs 80/kg currently due to the coronavirus scare. One chicken farmer from Karnataka even went on to bury a truck-load of chicken so that people wouldn’t get infected.

To dispel the fears surrounding meat and coronavirus, the Poultry Farm Association organized a ‘Chicken Mela’ in Gorakhpur. This initiative was to turn down rumours that the birds aren’t carriers of the disease. The went on to cook 1,000 Kg chicken meat and sold savoury dishes worth Rs 30 for people to try. They claimed that the entire stock sold out. However, it did little to debunk the rumours around chicken.

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Is anybody willing to try kathal biryani? 😉

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