Bitter sweet

Petha production in Agra leaves behind waste and pollution. The city must develop strategies to reduce their impact

- KULDEEP CHOUDHARY AND SUBHASISH PARIDA

WORLD OVER, Agra is known as the city of the Taj Mahal. But for food lovers, it is also the destination for a unique sweet—petha, a soft, translucent candy made from ash gourd or winter melon (Benincasa hispida). The recipe of Agra ka petha (Agra’s petha) is believed to have slipped out of the royal kitchen of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Over the years, its popularity has given rise to a full-fledged industry in this historical city, located on the banks of the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh.

Until 2013, there were over 700 big and small units manufacturing the sweet, according to the Petha Association of Agra. Researchers from the Sharda University in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, estimate that the number could be higher at around 1,500—several units are not registered with the Agra Municipal Corporation and hence remain unnoticed.

The number of petha-making units has, however, dwindled following the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. In April 2021, the Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted a survey of Agra and found that multiple lockdowns and economic losses over the past two years have left only 130 units in the city. While their decline denotes a cultural loss for Agra, the study also highlights a grimy picture of the petha industry.

Though regarded as the purest form of sweet by the local residents, given that its primary ingredients are just fruit, sugar, and water, petha leaves behind a plethora of waste for disposal and also causes pollution. Agra cannot aim to eliminate its waste and protect its residents and the monument without looking for sustainable ways to deal with mounting petha waste, warns the CSE study.