-Hindustan Times Many of these chemicals have become extremely pervasive in our environment as a result of their widespread repeated use and, in some cases, their environmental persistence Last week, the Maharashtra government registered a police complaint against three pesticide companies and Krishi Seva Kendras (agro-input centres) for selling pesticides not recommended for the region after 32 farmers from Vidarbha died of poisoning. The agriculture department, which is responsible for educating farmers...

-TheWire.in Despite widespread violations of workers’ entitlements, the BJP government as well as the opposition have shown nothing but apathy. The BJP-led Jharkhand government has coined a new slogan, “Har haath ko kaam (Give every hand work)” to show its commitment on providing employment to people of the state. The slogan assumes special significance for Jharkhand, where the ratio of working age population migrating to other states was the highest in the...

-Scroll.in Aadhaar is depriving the most vulnerable people of their grain entitlements. Eleven-year-old Santoshi Kumari died asking for rice on September 28, eight months after her family stopped getting food rations from the government because their ration card was not linked to their Aadhaar, the biometrics-based 12-digit unique identification number that the Centre wants all Indian residents to have. The child’s death in Jharkhand’s Simdega district has elicited official responses that verge...

-The Financial Express Pune: The special task force in Maharashtra to tackle agrarian crisis Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM) chairman Kishor Tiwari on MoNDAy blamed the Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta, Germany’s Bayer and Bayer-owned Monsanto for recent deaths of farmers due to pesticide exposure to the cotton belt of Yavatmal. In a statement issued here, he said that they have been accused of distributing dangerous pesticides without sufficient safety information...

-TheWire.in A recent study in Jharkhand showed that farmers are unaware of how to correctly use different chemicals and do not use any protective gear during the process. The deaths and hospitalisation of farmers in Maharashtra raises to the forefront the question of state government culpability for its negligence in regulating the pesticide sector. The National Human Rights Commission has observed that most farmers in the country are not adequately literate and...