Delhi shoppers, shopkeepers prefer Bt Brinjal shunned

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Writer Namita Gokhale, shopping at the Khan market and her bags already full with vegetables and fruits, told IANS that she would "never touch BT Brinjal".

"I suffer from a range of anti-immune diseases, so I am personally aware of how delicate the equilibrium of the body is," she said, adding there was huge need for research and validation before Bt products were "unleashed in a society which still does not have in-built food safety mechanisms".

Housewife Santosh Lakhotia, shopping at the M-Block market in South Delhi's Greater Kailash, said the "idea of cooking 'aloo-baigan' (potato and brinjals), 'baigan ka bharta' (mashed brinjals) and stuffed brinjals with genetically-modified American variety seemed alien."

"I read about the controversy in the papers and I think the government has taken the right stand," Lakhotia told IANS.

Opinion among vegetable vendors and wholesalers across the capital was divided, while some were unaware of the issue.

"We rarely have time to read the newspapers and watch television," said Tapan Bose, who has been selling vegetables at market number 1 at Chittaranjan Park for the last 28 years.

His kiosk has six different kinds - "masala" brinjals, the round "bharta brinjals", small brinjals for curries, long eastern brinjals, green seedy brinjals and the hefty and expensive Calcutta brinjals, ferried in special air-conditioned wagons of the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express from Kolkata.

Bose's neighbour, P.K. Pattanaik said he would wait till the government decided on the cultivation and sale of Bt variety.

"The government has to launch an intensive awareness and education campaign. Vendors like us who leave home at 4 a.m. and return late in the night have to be briefed about the advantages and market viability of Bt vegetables to satisfy customers," Pattanaik said.

However, he said nothing can replace the "desi" (local, natural) varieties.

Anand Prakash, whose family manages the 50-year Allied Fruits and Florists store in Khan Market, said he was against genetically modified vegetables.

"Local brinjals are easily available, affordable and taste much better. We don't need to grow foreign brinjals on our farms because our farmers cultivate quality and fresh vegetables," Prakash told IANS.

However, the 47-year-old Bombay Fruit Mart in Khan Market, which sells imported vegetables and fruits, supported Bt Brinjal.

"I have seen genetically modified giant onions in US and wanted to import them to India. The price does not matter if the product is superior. In a democracy, one is free to eat anything, import anything and experiment with his lifestyle," said Banarasi Dass Rajora, who owns the shop.