Despite the government´s ban on pesticides, farmers have been using them regularly to improve their crop outputs. Besides being popular for tea cultivation, the district is equally known for other vegetables such as tomatoes, green vegetables and cucumbers. [break]
“It´s the surreptitious use of pesticides in farming that has claimed a couple of lives lately. Some of them are victims of suicide and some have died through accidental intake of the fatal chemical compositions,” said Sub-inspector Kabindra Karki.
According to Ilam District Police Office (DPO), Puspa Darnal, 28, of Chisapani VDC-7 died after consuming pesticide. Based on the statement of his parents, Darnal, who was behaving quite normally all day, started to foam in the mouth. He breathe his last while being rushed to the nearest medical centre.
“Later, during the post mortem, pesticide traces were found in his organs. He lost his life instantly after the chemical reaction set in,” said Karki.
Similar was the case of Devi Prasad Poudel of Jitpur VDC-3. He lost his life while being treated at Ilam District Hospital.
“There were suicides in the past also and most of them were cases of hanging. Today, consuming pesticides has replaced that,” said Karki.
Accidental consumption of pesticides occurs mainly due to human error and the best prevention is not to bring the pesticides into the house in the first place, suggested Karki.
According to police, the use of pesticides such as FORED, Monoprotophos, DDT and Indofil is common among locals.
“It´s sad that locals still use pesticides in defiance of the government´s restriction. They should understand that these chemical compositions can be fatal for living beings,” said senior agriculture development officer Prakash Kumar Dangi. “The government should immediately take stern measures for curbing the use of pesticides,” he added.
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