A village of 6,000 people with no proper roads, school or hospital, Mohammedpur Umari could pass for any underprivileged hamlet in Uttar Pradesh from the outside.
But it has an unusual feature - it has had over 100 pairs of twins in last 50 years.
Residents of the village, in Dhumanganj area of Allahabad district, say this number could have passed 200 had there been a hospital in the area.
"The population of Mohammedpur Uamari is 6,000 but there is neither a hospital nor a school. Those few people who have land in the village stay back, but a majority of villagers migrate to Delhi or Mumbai in search of livelihood," said Mohammed Asif, whose twin brother Karim lives in the national capital.
A pair of newborn twins pictured in Mohammedpur Umari village in Allahabad
Mohammed Atishan, who has a twin brother Zeeshan, said: "People get confused to see the twins. They can identify those who are older than 15 years. But we look identical when we are kids. The problem is that outsiders ridicule us and say that we belong to an abnormal village."
The village consists of 80 per cent Muslim and 20 per cent Hindu population. But the birth of twins is a phenomenon that has been found in both communities.
Sisters Nighat and Farhat
Some feel that it has more to do with local lifestyle and environment than with genes.
"Our parents used to say that this trend had started here some 90 years ago. Before that, there were three or four sets of twins. But at a later stage, more and more identical twins were born. But in last 50 years, this has become a routine," said 70-year-old Rauf Alam, who is also a member of local gram sabha.
Twins Mohammed Atishan and Zeeshan
More than 90 pairs of twins have also died during this period because of alleged delays in medical aid for pregnant women.
"Imagine how beautiful would have been our village if all the twins were here," said Mohammed Asif.
"A large number of scholars from across the world have visited the village and collected blood samples. But they didn't return to share their findings with us," Asif said sadly.
Brothers Amit and Vipin
"However, a team of cellular and molecular biologists from Hyderabad had told us a few years ago that it could be because of some minerals in the groundwater which we use, or the pesticides and insecticides we use in our agricultural fields," he added.
Source : dailymail
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