Sonepur, Bihar : Elephant dung is selling like hot cakes at the famous annual cattle fair here. The use of elephant dung as a mosquito repellent has made it sought after item.

“We are selling a lot of elephant dung; it is in high demand,” Arvind Kumar Singh, owner of an elephant said.

 

He said, villagers have traditionally bought elephant dung to use as mosquito repellent. When it’s burnt, the smoke instantly kills mosquitoes.

 

“Elephant dung is the cheapest mosquito repellent. And like herbal medicines, it has no side effects,” says Maheshwar Rai, a cattle farmer who bought five kilogram of dung for Rs 20. He said he would use the dung “to save his family and half-a-dozen cows from the mosquitoes.”

 

Another buyer, Satyendra Mahato, said that elephant dung is more effective than other repellents.