Odisha urges Centre for complete ban on toxic Paraquat herbicide citing farmers' health and environmental concerns

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 9 (ANI): The Odisha government has urged the Centre to permanently ban the manufacturing, sale and distribution of Paraquat herbicide within Odisha, citing farmers' health and environmental concerns.
In a letter to the Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, principal secretary, agriculture and farmers' empowerment department, Government of Odisha, highlighted the potential risks of the herbicide.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "We received a lot of complaints in the state about suicides due to poisoning. After getting the data from the field, we realised that one such chemical was used in the non-selective pesticide paraquat. Initially, paraquat was banned in Odisha for 90 days and now we have written to the government of India to permanently ban this chemical in Odisha."
The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Bhubaneswar had recently reported that Paraquat and it's formulations come under highly toxic chemicals that could have potential harmful impact on human health.
According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Paraquat causes direct damage when it comes into contact with the lining of the mouth, stomach, or intestines. After paraquat enters the body, it is distributed to all areas of the body. Paraquat causes toxic chemical reactions to occur throughout many parts of the body, primarily the lungs, liver, and kidneys.
In addition, the Odisha government has also decided that the sale of pesticides will be done through prescription only. A relevant official from the agriculture department, scientists, agriculture universities or research institutions will be able to prescribe the pesticides.
"We wish to ensure safe and integrated usage of pesticides and we don't want to have an overload of pesticides in the environment or in the ecosystem. Odisha is one of the first few states to introduce this prescription mode of pesticide sale in the country. We want to ensure that there is no harmful impact on the lives of the farmers as well as the ecology and the environment," he said. (ANI)