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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Push supplier states to curb chemical use -Jayashree Nandi

Push supplier states to curb chemical use -Jayashree Nandi

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published Published on May 30, 2013   modified Modified on May 30, 2013
-The Times of India


NEW DELHI: If Delhi government has to make sure that residents don't eat pesticide-laced food, it will have to push neighboring states to reduce their pesticide usage. Most of Delhi's fruits and vegetables come from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Agricultural experts say that while High Court-appointed panel's recommendations on monitoring pesticide residue levels are welcome, much more needs to be done.

According to the latest report of government's All India Network Project On Pesticide Residues, most vegetables that were sourced from mandis - especially okra (bhindi), cabbage and cauliflower - were found to have pesticide residues higher than the maximum residue limit (MRL). The residues of cypermethrin, chlorpyriphos (a pesticide often linked to disorders in humans) were found to be most common in city vegetables.

Kavita Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) and India for Safe Food says that Delhi doesn't grow much of vegetables that we consume. "Government should appeal to the neighboring states to invest in sustainable agricultural practices. Farmers can wait till the effect of the pesticides wear out a little bit," she says. There are 'waiting periods' for each crop to avoid immediate consumption of pesticide-laced ones.

Kuruganti adds that MRLs don't indicate the safety levels for consumption. To reduce health impacts of pesticides, the acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels need to be monitored. She gives the example of Monocrotophos, another organophosphate pesticide that is acutely toxic to birds and recommended for 'restricted use.' However, Kuruganti says that it's an "open secret" that the same pesticide is used across vegetables, without any restrictions.

PS Khillare, professor at School of Environmental Sciences in JNU has more bad news. His ongoing research on vegetables in Delhi shows residues higher than the prescribed safety limits. "We are studying soil, vegetables and soil sediments to understand how pesticide residues are affecting us. Some organochloride and organophosphate groups of pesticides have higher residues. The samples have been collected from Yamuna flood plains," he says.


The Times of India, 30 May, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Push-supplier-states-to-curb-chemical-use/articleshow/20339747.cms


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