pesticides against this peril. This
led to not only the sales of
pesticides and herbicides with
banned chemical by the avaricious
pesticide/herbicide
selling
companies. Added to this, a
situation also was created to sell
spurious pesticides in the markets
to the innocent and ignorant
farmers who were forced to borne
their brunt.
While farmers and agricultural
labourers Yavatmal districts were
killed due to exposure to pesticides
in Bt. cotton fields, nine farmers
have committed suicide just in a
week in Odisha due to the crop
damage in pest attack during 2 nd
week of November, and according
to the apprehension of experts
associated with agriculture
economy, the number of such
suicides may rise alarmingly in
future. This situation is the result
of spurious pesticides supplied by
the government (state) agencies
and “inaction” on the part of
agriculture officials to provide to
timely technological support and
advice to farmers and not
controlling and regulating the
pesticides/herbicide business in
accordance with the law.
It is disheartening to learn that
in Maharashtra alone 48 people
were killed and 1800 people
became sick due to exposure to
pesticides within.
Recently in came to light that
in Andhra Pradesh many people
in
Guntur,
Vijayawada,
Visakhapatnam, Prakasam,
Kurnool and Tirupati regions are
becoming sick due to a new
disease-Aplastic Anaemia- a
result of consuming pesticide
residue in vegetables and foods.
That around from 3,000-4,000
such cases of sickness are being
registered every year and that
20
there is considerable number of
deaths due to this disease.
It also came to light in A.P.,
into come to light that many cases
of pesticides exposure of
agricultural labourers have
increased during July-December,
many of whom who sprayed
Forate-10g granules in rice fields.
Deaths of these labourers too are
reported in many numbers.
But the government’s state
and authorities are showing a blind
eye to the pesticide related deaths.
Recently on December 3,
2017, four cases of pesticide
exposure sickness were reported
from Kella village of Gurla mandal
of Vizianagaram district of A.P.
Four agricultural labourers who
carried rice crop for thrashing out
as grain were attacked with
sickness of vomiting and dysentery.
When they were joined at a private
hospital two of them died while two
of them remained in a critical
condition. The rice crop carried by
them was previously sprayed with
pesticides. The doctors who
treated these labourers are of the
opinion that the sickness and
deaths are related to pesticide
exposure.
This incident alone exposes
the magnify of the evil imposed on
Indian agricultural sector through
‘green revolution’ by the foreign
capital in its avarice of inhuman
profit pursuance.
As usual the governments
and administration started the
drama of ‘enquiries’ at the same
time making every effort to blame
the victim farmers and agricultural
labour for not following the safety
warnings of the pesticide
companies in using abnormal
quantities of toxic pesticides
besides the advised precautions
while spraying the pesticides.
Thus every effort is being made
to absolve the avaricious and
inhuman pesticide business
community-foreign as well their
Indian calendars. They are blaming
the farmers for having used
banned pesticides or concoction
of permissible ones which might
have turned hazardous “and” not
adhering to certain do’s and don’ts
while spraying pesticides in the
farms”. Thus they are skilfully
covering up their intentional failure
of not banning many pesticides
being used in India despite their
ban in many countries for their
toxic effects.
Now they are stating that they
are going to ban 18 pesticides in
a ‘phased manner’. That they will
ban “manufacturing import and
use of 12 pesticides from January
1, 2018, and 6 other pesticides
from December 31, 2020. Most of
these pesticides are highly toxic
to honey bees and birds and they
also contaminate water bodies
and underground water.
On the other hand the
pesticides industry body crop care
federation (CCFI) refutes the
allegation of pesticide exposure
deaths and sickness ‘that while it
shares public concern over the
loss of lives of farmers that “it does
not warrant a prior assumption that
exposure to pesticide sprays
caused the death and there are
strong scientific reasons against
such a prior assumption”.
In this din of public resentment
against pesticide exposure deaths
and the drama of CBI probe in to
the deaths, the Genetically
Engineering Appraisal Committee
(GEAC) sub-committee, in its
haste to facilitate accord of
governmental approval to
commercial relese of GM mustard
on July 29, made certain
Class Struggle