Killing more than just the pests

|
  • 0

Killing more than just the pests

Thursday, 20 December 2018 | Kota Sriraj

Pesticides, which were once considered a boon for  farmers, are now seen as a threat as they continue to take a toll on both land and lives

Pesticides have always attracted a lot of controversies and they are getting worse as increasingly powerful, lethal and toxic variants have crept into the human food chain. This is wreaking havoc. The situation is grim because one can no longer say where and which pesticide will strike and how many human lives will be lost. Rampant and indiscriminate use of these chemicals to safeguard crops and ostensibly increase the yield has led to countless instances of lives being lost. The environment, too, has been a silent sufferer — the sad part is that the Government has been a mute spectator with no concrete plan to salvage humanity and ecology from the grip of such pesticides.

Monocrotophos is a highly toxic pesticide that is now proving to be a harbinger of death for many. This lethal chemical has recently been blamed for the death of several devotees in a temple in Karnataka. On December 17, at least 14 people died and 107 were hospitalised after consuming prasad reportedly contaminated by the pesticide at the Kichugutti Maramma temple in Chamarajanagar district near Mysore, Karnataka. Monocrotophos had claimed lives in India earlier, too, as farmers, who sprayed it on crops for a better yield in the Yavatmal region of Maharashtra in 2017, had overlooked that traces remained in the plant. In 2013, some 23 children died in a village in Bihar’s Saran district after consuming a mid-day meal tainted with traces of Monocrotophos. The school teacher had brought vegetable oil for cooking from a grocery shop owned by her husband. The oil was kept in a container that earlier contained Monocrotophos. This contaminated the oil, causing the deaths and awakening us to its damaging potency.

After the incident, the Bihar Government had taken preventive measures to avoid a re-occurrence. One such corrective measure now being followed involves the storage of raw grain samples at a sterilised godown from where items for the mid-day meal scheme are supplied. A toll-free number for all complaints related to the scheme will also be circulated soon. However, the latest incident in a Karnataka temple shows that in India our precautions are at best sporadic and ineffective. How else can we explain the fact that while Bihar learnt its lesson, Karnataka had to suffer first in order to learn the lesson? The casual attitude of the authorities ensured that a countrywide alert on the usage of Monocrotophos was not issued.

Monocrotophos is an insecticide of the organophosphate family, commonly used to control pests, but of late has become a poison for humans as well. Given this situation, it is time for India to figure out a way to phase out Monocrotophos and other Class I pesticides, which are known for acute toxicity. One of the biggest controls is to ban the re-use of pesticide containers as storage for any commodity. This also means that there needs to be safety protocols in place for the disposal of containers. The problem of unsafe disposal of plastic containers carrying hazardous substances is being totally ignored by the concerned authorities. This is evident from  the fact that any common person can visit any scrap dealer across India and purchase an old 50-litre can that was used earlier to store toxic chemicals. With this type of unrestricted availability, one can only understand the risk one is running while using a contaminated can. In order to prevent this from occurring, the Government must organise awareness camps at small towns and villages where this type of re-use and its associated risks are highlighted to the local populace.

The authorities must also issue a list of dos and don’ts for the farmers while using toxic pesticides. This will go a long way in ensuring that the risk of accidentally ingesting the poison is totally avoided. The rampant use of pesticides such as these is also taking a toll on the top soil, eventually reducing its natural resilience as a result of which the land is becoming exceedingly dependent on artificial supports and chemicals. These conditions are dangerous if they are allowed to continue and must be curtailed immediately. Agriculture is the mainstay of our economy and supports a huge farming population. Pesticides, which were once considered a boon for the farmers, are now a threat as they continue to take a toll on the land and lives. How can this be tolerated and allowed to go on is beyond the logic of any common man. The bigger question is what benefit is the Government getting by allowing such pesticides a free run in the market even if it means that they are killing more than just pests?

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda