Kerala news: Why Arali flower offerings, also known as oleander, is banned in temple

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Also Read:Northern lights spotted in Kerala? Netizens react to hilarious post on social media The decision to ban oleander flower was taken by Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which is entrusted with the task of administrating 1,248 temples and Malabar Devaswom Board with over 1,400 temples under its jurisdiction. Watch | Kerala Governor Arif Khan finds 'immense peace' at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir; ‘Feels great' in presence of Lord Ram According to PTI report, the decisions was taken after incidents reported in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta. In Alappuzha, a woman allegedly died after consuming Arali flowers and leaves.

Whereas, a cow and calf reportedly died in Pathanamthitta two days ago after eating oleander leaves. According to Indian Express, Surya Surendran (24), a nurse who was set to depart to UK on April 28, died prima facie due to accidental oleander poisoning. On April 28, she chewed some leaves of the oleander plant which grew outside her house in Alappuzha's Pallipad.

After that, she developed uneasiness, and vomited a few times. Later that day, she collapsed at the Kochi airport, and died a couple of days later at a hospital, said report. Also Read: Kerala West Nile fever cases: Health department on alert, issues directives to take mosquito control measures Flowers like tulsi, thechi (Ixora), jasmine, jamanti (hibiscus), and rose will be used instead of oleander.

It has been decided to completely avoid using Arali flowers in the naivedya and prasad offerings in temples under the TDB, PTI quoted P S Prasanth, the president of the TDB, as saying. Although the Arali flower is not widely used in rituals in temples, its use is banned considering the safety of devotees. Studies have found that the flower contains toxic