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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Pesticide deaths stalk Yavatmal fields: 18 dead, over 800 farmers in hospital -Vivek Deshpande

Pesticide deaths stalk Yavatmal fields: 18 dead, over 800 farmers in hospital -Vivek Deshpande

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published Published on Oct 8, 2017   modified Modified on Oct 8, 2017
-The Indian Express

The Agriculture Department has meanwhile rushed two ‘Quality Control’ probe teams to Yavatmal and Akola to check if some of the pesticides were spurious.

Yavatmal (Maharashra):
Devidas Madavi, 57, a farm hand from Kalamb town in Yavatmal district, took up the job of spraying pesticides for the first time this year. By August 19, 12 days after he had used a can to spray pesticides in the cotton fields of employer Amar Gurnule, he was dead. Since July 19, 17 farmers have died of similar pesticide inhalation in the district while at least 12 more deaths are being investigated in the districts of Akola (5), Amravati (2), Nagpur (2), Bhandara (2) and Buldana (1). Over 800 people are in hospital, with symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, stomach ache, and vision impairment. Yavatmal ironically is the farmer suicide capital of Vidarbha.

On October 3, two and a half months after the first death, the government ordered a probe and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to families of each of the deceased. On Friday, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court issued notices on a PIL seeking criminal action against the officials concerned and pesticide firms. While no action has been taken against anyone so far, Minister of State for Agriculture Sadabhau Khot on Tuesday said, “Officials responsible will be made answerable.”

The Agriculture Department has meanwhile rushed two ‘Quality Control’ probe teams to Yavatmal and Akola to check if some of the pesticides were spurious. “Akola has many pesticide warehouses. We will also probe if farmers were apprised on the use of pesticides,” Commissioner, Agriculture, Sachindra Pratap Singh told The Sunday Express.

Madavi’s wife Mangala says they don’t have farmland of own, but would manage working on the fields of others. They have two children, Sandip, 25, and daughter Nikita, 20. Within five days of starting spraying of pesticides, Madavi fell ill, starting with diarrhoea. Mangala, 47, took him to the rural hospital of Kalamb, from where he was shifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Yavatmal, where he passed away. The official reason was ‘Accidental (passive) inhalation of pesticides’.

Sitting in a dark, two-room house, to which a stream of visitors has been making a beeline since news of the deaths emerged, Mangala remains confused about her husband dying of such a “saadi bimari (innocuous ailment)”.

Forty km away, in Manoli village, Deepa, the widow of farm labourer Bandu Sonule, 43, scoffs at the government relief. “I will collect Rs 2 lakh by begging and give it to the government instead. They should give us Rs 10 lakh.”

Most farm labourers take up pesticide spraying as it pays more, Rs 350 per day, compared to Rs 250 for other farm operations. The labourers say they know the extra money is for the hazards involved, and add that no officer has ever advised them on precautions to take. “Only now have they come out with some pamphlets,” say some of those in hospitals.

Farmers go by what the local, privately owned Krushi Seva Kendras, through which pesticides are sold, tell them. The packets have instructions in several languages, but the print is too small, and not all farmers can read.

Under the Insecticides Act, 1968, officials are required to train farmers in the use of pesticides. The Superintending Agriculture Office, Yavatmal, Navnath Kolapkar claims they undertake awareness programmes “but farmers don’t generally observe caution”. “We also keep tabs on spurious or banned products.”

However, Kolapkar admits that farmers going by the advice of Krushi Seva Kendras is a “big issue”. “Only qualified persons should run these shops. We are planning to make it compulsory for the kendras to make guideline leaflets available to farmers. Also, protection kits need to be given.”

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The Indian Express, 8 October, 2017, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pesticide-deaths-stalk-yavatmal-fields-18-dead-over-800-farmers-in-hospital-4879796/


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