Deadly clash over ‘Himalayan Viagra’
Print Edition
A villager was shot dead in a remote mountainous area of Nepal and three others were injured in clashes over a rare and valuable fungus known as the “Himalayan Viagra” for its reputed aphrodisiac qualities, an official said yesterday.
Every year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and China’s Tibet region harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yarchagumba, which grows on caterpillars.
It can fetch huge sums in China, where it is used in herbal medicines, but is only found at certain elevations and for a few weeks a year.
Officials in the western district of Mugu where the clash occurred said they had dispatched a police team on Wednesday after receiving reports of the clash, but they only arrived yesterday morning.
“One person was killed while three others were injured when a gang of 10-12 looters shot indiscriminately in the area on Wednesday night,” Mugu district chief Keshab Raj Sharma said. “Locals said the gang had stolen their collections.”
It is not the first time that violence has broken out over the yarchagumba harvest in Nepal. In 2009 seven people were brutally murdered in a fight over harvesting rights. Two years after, the court convicted 19 villagers over the case.
Sharma said no medical teams had yet reached the spot. A rescue helicopter took off, but had been forced to turn back because of bad weather.
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