E-Paper
Odisha orders restricted use of 2 herbicides
Odisha’s directorate of agriculture and food production asked all district agricultural officers in a letter to create awareness among farmers about the restriction on the use of glyphosate and Paraquat dichloride.
Taking note of persistent demands of restricted usage of herbicides glyphosate and Paraquat Dichloride, the Odisha government has asked its agricultural officers not to encourage their use in their demonstrations and subsidised sales.
The state’s directorate of agriculture and food production asked all district agricultural officers in a letter to create awareness among farmers about the restriction on the use of glyphosate and Paraquat dichloride.
Agriculture department officials, however, said there is no immediate plan to ban the two herbicides for the time being.
Glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides to kill grasses, was classified by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Paraquat dichloride is another herbicide primarily being used by paddy farmers for weed control, but doctors have raised concern over its paraquat poisoning.
In September this year, doctors at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Burla alleged that paraquat has been the cause of death of around 170 people in the last two years.
Dr Shankar Ramchandani, who led the protest, said paraquat poisoning leads to problems in the kidneys, liver and lungs.
Kerala and Punjab are the only two states that have banned the sale of glyphosate.
