Chill out with bael juice

ROURKELA: From tribal lore, bael juice helps treat heat stroke. Taken with four drops of lemon juice, the bael juice protects people from sunstroke affect for three days. With temperatures soaring across western parts of the State, people in the Steel City are guzzling bael fruit juice to beat the heat.Making the health drink available at the doorsteps of customers is Mukesh Prasad. A known face at Ambedkar Square of Uditnagar here, he walks down to shopping complex with a gleaming steel container and a plastic bucket every forenoon. The juice which brings relief to the frayed nerves on hot and humid summer noons is much-awaited by the people. Garment vendor Monu Agarwal, an eager customer of Mukesh, said while none is spared of high food inflation and hazards of junk food, Mukesh is doing a service to them with his healthy offer at their doorsteps at an incredible price. He charges ` 7 for a glass of chilled bael juice.Mukesh claims 30 litres of the juice gets exhausted in four hours and he manages a handsome profit of ` 300 by 2 pm. The evening is dedicated to selling lemon tea which fetches him another ` 100 in a couple of hours.A Matriculate from nearby Hariharpur slum in Basanti Colony, Mukesh sells lemon tea throughout the year with bael juice being his seasonal business.Making it a family affair are his cousin Murari Prasad and brother Sunil Prasad who follow the same trend at other busy areas of the Steel City. With this unique concept, the Prasads are arguably the best marketing personnel in their own right.