A Short🧵on Bangalore's notorious Pollen Allergy, its relationship with our Food shortage and origin of the nickname 'Congress Grass'👇
Post-independence, India's wheat bowl, had gone to Pakistan and within the next decade, we were struggling to feed our population. A spell of successive bad monsoons later, there was a severe food crisis by 1955. In 1954, part of their Cold War game.
Eisenhower signed a Public Law <PL>, where US food was used for overseas aid, PL 480. Nehru was sold to this idea and India was the biggest receiver (>50% of the total outflow). But there were many issues related to this.
https://twitter.com/sidart_misra/status/1279200046395715584
Along with those Wheat came a species of flowering plant from the aster family, that was native to the American tropics <was known as Santa Maria Feverfew or Whitetop Weed>. Though some form of it was already in India, abundance is attributed to the imported wheat only. 
Parthenium soon spread across India, and today few will say this was done by the U.S. knowingly to ruin the soil condition in India. But there was something more than this.
It was known as 'Gaajar ghaas' or 'Chatak Chandni' in North affects and used to affect the naked parts of the skin of the human body and causes allergy called ABCD. Air-Borne Contact Dermatitis.
While the rest of India got impacted in a controlled manner.
While the rest of India got impacted in a controlled manner.
Somehow it became a big nuisance in Karnakata, esp in Bangalore. Along with the pollution, this causes asthma in the months of July-Sep. Soon, locals called it as Congress hullu in Kannada. Rest of India then called it as Congress Grass as the tribute to the Central govt.
PS: This thread is via my discussion with one of the most interesting people you will meet in Goa. The one and only Gourav Jaswal.
Know more about him at factordaily.com/outliers-54-no…
Know more about him at factordaily.com/outliers-54-no…
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