MNCs sell pesticides without safety info

By: TNN, Times of India, Oct 17, 2017

The chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalmban Mission (VNSSM), which is the Maharashtra government's special task force to tackle agrarian crisis, has alleged that multinational companies have been selling pesticides without sufficient safety information.

"This amounts to violation of conditions laid down by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) as well as Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) code of conduct on pesticide management," Kishore Tiwari, the VNSSM chairman, said on Monday.

In a statement, Tiwari blamed companies, such as Swiss agrochemicals firm Syngenta and US multinational Monsanto, for the 39 deaths and thousands taking ill after spraying pesticides. "These two, along with United Phosphorous, have the major market share in the pesticide business. There are several other smaller Indian players who manufacture same formulations and conduct their businesses in an unethical manner," said Tiwari, who holds the rank of MoS as the VNSSM chief. 

Syngenta, in a statement to TOI, said it gave utmost importance to the safe use of chemicals and undertook a number of stewardship activities, including doctors' training and safe handling training. The activities include distribution of personal protective equipment. 

Tiwari alleged that Monsanto, which makes the genetically modified Bt cotton seeds, is involved in selling the unauthorized herbicide-resistant cotton seeds BG-III in the market. It is illegal to manufacture or sell BG-III seeds as the central government has not cleared it.

"At the same time, Syngenta and German giant Bayer are distributing dangerous pesticides without guaranteeing safe user conditions. This exposes farmers to major health risks," claimed Tiwari. 

The VNSSM, which conducted a survey in the affected villages of Vidarbha, said many farmers had developed symptoms like nausea, rashes and eye irritation. "Brands like Nativo, Confidor, Regent, Larvin, made by Bayer as well as Gramoxone, and Matador by Syngenta need to be banned with immediate effect," said Tiwari.

"It is natural for cotton growers under pressure to protect their investments and to rely on greater volumes of insecticides in the face of severe pest attacks. It appears that many of them have suffered high levels of exposure to the poisonous pesticides, leading to their deaths," he said 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Joins Russia in Voting Against West-Backed Move to Expand Powers of OPCW

The Wire: June 28, 2018 New Delhi: India voted against a UK-backed move that will allow the global chemical weapons watchdog to apportion blame for illegal attacks, criticising the decision to grant “unchecked powers” to the head of the group which could be used for “partisan” purposes. On Wednesday, more than two-thirds of the member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) voted to authorise the international body to identify the perpetrators and sponsors of a chemical weapons attack. It also specifically called on the OPCW’s technical secretariat to begin work on identifying the perpetrators behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The draft decision, sponsored by 30 countries, was adopted at the fourth special session of the conference of the states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at the Hague, with 82 in favour and 24 negative votes. While Europe, the United States and their allies voted ‘yes’, there was strong oppo...
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav...
Read more

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017...
Read more