Bamboo Rice Shows Up In Odisha

Why in News?

  • Odisha is among the states known for a wide variety of rice, the staple food of eastern and north-eastern India and beyond.

Bamboo Rice

Bamboo rice is special rice that is grown out of a dying bamboo shoot.

  • When the bamboo shoot breathes its last, it flowers into a rare variety of rice seeds, which are known as bamboo rice.
  • It is said that the bamboo rice harvesting is a major source of income for the tribal communities living in the interiors of Wayanad Sanctuary in Kerala.
  • The gates of Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary in Cuttack district Odisha have been recently opened for forest dwellers to come and collect the rice.

    • Significance:

    • The bamboo rice which grows only twice or thrice in a century. And it is being harvested now. The last collected bamboo rice in Odisha was in 1979.
    • Whenever bamboo blossoms, the rat population increases. To prevent rats from running the rice, local villagers and forest dwellers collect bamboo rice. Also, the rice then becomes a major source of income and food for villagers living near the forest.

    Nutritional content:

    • The variety looks like paddy rice and tastes more like wheat.
    • It is believed to have low glycaemic index compared to other varieties and it is good for diabetics. It’s rich in proteins and does not contain any fat.
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