Posts Tagged ‘Punjab’
Pesticide threat (2005)
Posted in Blogs (Articles) on December 1st, 2008 by Rajesh Kochhar – Be the first to commentThe Tribune, Chandigarh,24 June 2005
Rajesh Kochhar
IN the recent Green Revolution decades, Punjab has created very many new folk songs celebrating the tubewell and the tractor. No sad songs have yet been written on the excessive use of pesticides of which Punjab is a major consumer primarily for its cotton and rice crops. Punjab produces 21 per cent of India’s wheat, 9 per cent of rice and 8 per cent of cotton, even though it has less than 2 per cent of India’s land. But, there is also a flip side to this accomplishment. Punjab consumes 12 per cent of India’s agro-chemicals.
Quite obviously, any substance that is harmful for insects and pests must be harmful for the human beings also. What is the amount of pesticide in human beings and animals in Punjab? How does it compare with say Uttaranchal Pradesh or Rajasthan? Does the presence of pesticide in the human body cause cancer, mental retardation and other illness? What are the safe limits for human beings? For animals? A large number of players are interested in answers to these and related questions?
There are the environmentalist groups, which are no doubt deeply concerned but at times overstate the case. Then there is the government which is the custodian of public health, but tends to get into the defensive mode at the slightest provocation. The profitable agrochemical industry would like to believe that pesticides are not as big a villain as some people are making them out to be, while the companies engaged in the production of genetically engineered crops are hoping that the controversy would help them gain credibility and business. On top of this, while the numerous television channels vie with one another to produce exclusive round-the-clock news, it is not an easy task to maintain a sense of proportion.
Conflict of interest and difference in perception are inevitable in any contemporary debate. But the debate should take place in an informed manner. When people take diametrically opposite views on any issue, the decision making becomes erratic. It is therefore essential that differences are narrowed down so that the broad direction in which the decision lies becomes obvious. It is the sacred duty of all participants in the debate to make sure that the scientific methodology is not brought into disrepute. This means that as the very first step, everybody should agree on the basic facts of the case.
What is the amount of pesticide present in human beings of different age groups? Does it vary from region to region? Is the amount higher in the cotton belt? Is it higher among the non-vegetarians? Does it vary with seasons? What is the picture in other parts of the country? Ditto for cattle and other animals.
It is a simple matter to chemically analyse the composition of blood. In view of the high stakes involved it is imperative that the credibility of the various laboratories remains unquestioned.
The first step should be the calibration of participating labs and their equipment. A single blood sample should be divided into sub-samples and given to various labs. No matter what equipment or procedure they employ, no matter who the researchers are, the results should all lie in a permissible range. Once this is ensured, rest of the task is easy.
A systematic study, involving government labs, research institutes and universities as well as NGOs, should be carried out. Within the framework of a firm, dependable data-base, different sides can try to convince one another about their point of view. Common citizens, farmers, government, and scientists all would be able to pool their resources and efforts to arrive at a solution.
Any problem that is created by human beings must necessarily be solvable by them. What is needed is determination and clear headedness.
— The author is Director , National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi
Cancer alarm in the Punjab cotton belt (2006)
Posted in Blogs (Articles) on December 1st, 2008 by Rajesh Kochhar – Be the first to comment
The Tribune Chandigarh 4 October 2006 Cancer alarm in the Punjab cotton belt The cotton-growing Malwa region of Punjab, comprising the southwestern districts of Bathinda, Muktsar, Faridkot and Mansa, has been reported to show a high incidence of various cancers. Since the region consumes three-fourths of all pesticides used by Punjab, cancer has been assumed to be caused by pesticides. In the absence of any systematic study of cancer or of pesticides, such a conclusion may be premature. In view of the fact that various types of cancers are prevalent, it is likely that a combination of factors is at work. Apriori linking of cancer with pesticides to the exclusion of other causes hampers science, fudges the issues, hardens positions, shifts the focus from human beings to chemicals and detracts from the misery of cancer patients and their families. A field study has been conducted by the PGI, Chandigarh, on behalf of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. The report submitted in February 2005 has not yet been made public, nor a scientific paper based on its findings published. Whatever is known about its contents comes from newspaper accounts and the Internet. An important conclusion of the PGI study thus is that the Bathinda cancer rate is higher than Ropar’s by as much as 50 per cent. (It should, however, be noted that Talwandi Sabo’s consumption of pesticides (17.5 litres per acre) is more than 30 times higher than that in Anandpur Sahib (0.5 litres) which is presumably about the same as in Chamkaur Sahib.) The PGI report records that 80 per cent of the villages in Talwandi Sabo have water pollution as compared to only 20 per cent in Chamkaur Sahib, and goes on to speculate that the “cancer cases and deaths are higher in Talwandi Sabo probably (Italics added) due to more use of pesticides, tobacco and alcohol”. As the use of the word “probably” implies, the conclusion is tentative. A Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has found high pesticide content (0.3701mg per litre) in 20 blood samples randomly drawn from people in four different villages: Mahi Nangal, Jajjal and Balloh in Bhatinda and Dher in Ropar. However, since the sample size is very small, the CSE study cannot furnish separate figures for Bathinda and Ropar. The PGI report’s reference to the pesticides as the probable cause of the cancers has elicited a rather sharp response from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (PAU), as a body. PAU is reported to have “suggested to the state government to undertake an in-depth study of the causes of cancer deaths in some villages of Punjab and not to jump to the conclusion that these were caused due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides”. PAU has suggested arsenic as a probable cause. In another independent scientific study, briefly reported in the Press, geo-physical investigation of ground water in four villages in Bathinda district shows that the levels of fluorine, nitrates, sulphates and sodium are “higher than desirable”. Clearly, the studies so far have been haphazard and inconclusive, and not subject to the crucial professional scrutiny by other scientists. The following four-fold strategy is suggested so that the phenomenon can be understood and, more importantly, help rendered to those suffering from cancer or likely to suffer from it in the near future. lA public campaign should be launched to correctly enter the cause of death in the government records. lA population-based cancer registry (PBCR) should be established in the region in consultation with and with support from the Indian Council of Medical Research. It is noteworthy that at present there is no rural cancer registry in the whole of North India. lAt the same time, but independently of the above, a systematic study of contamination of ground and surface water by agricultural (and industrial) activity as well as due to geological reasons should be undertaken. lOnce reliable and independent data are available on cancers and on water in the Malwa belt, the question of the causes of cancers should be addressed. The writer is a former Director, National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies. New Delhi
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