Pesticide ban call for around India's Kaziranga park
By Subir Bhaumik BBC News, Kaziranga national park
Forestry
officials in the north-east Indian state of Assam have demanded the
creation of a no-pesticide zone around the famous Kaziranga game
sanctuary.
The call follows the deaths of two pregnant elephants and other animals in tea estates around Kaziranga.
The national park is renowned for its varied wildlife, especially the tiger and the one-horned Indian rhino.
Officials say that mammals and birds were killed after eating grass that was contaminated by pesticides.
The
two elephants ventured out of the park in search of food and ate grass
which had been sprayed to kill red ants, officials say.
"The
death of these elephants has brought the pesticide issue to the
limelight, because the chemicals sprayed in tea estates are playing
havoc with wildlife in our forests which are surrounded by hundreds of
tea estates," said Anurag Singh, a senior forestry official in northern
Assam where Kaziranga is located.
The area has the highest concentration of tea estates in India.
"The managements of these estates must turn to organic farming and stop spraying chemicals," Mr Singh said. 'Endangering our wildlife'
He
added that hundreds of birds have died in the same area as has
livestock which has eaten pesticide-laced grass in recent weeks.
"The
cows died in their dozens and the vultures who fed on them also died in
large numbers. So you can imagine the effect on human health when
consumers drink these teas," Mr Singh said.
He said the forestry
department was contemplating the prosecution of some tea estates if
animals - especially those that are endangered - are killed by the
pesticides.
Local community groups also support a pesticide ban.
"The
tea estates should go organic and stop spraying random pesticides. They
are not only endangering our wildlife and aquatic life but also our
people," said Moni Manik Gogoi, who heads a "people's committee" near
Kaziranga.
Some tea estate owners have also supported the call, especially those who run estates which are fully organic.
"Unless
we all go organic, our teas will be under a scanner and we will lose
lucrative markets where consumers are very health conscious," said
Binod Saharia, owner of the Gossainbarie tea estate near Kaziranga.
But some planters are wary of losing out if they make the transition.
"The
tea industry is so used to chemicals because they represent the easy
option when combating plant diseases like halepeltis," said HS Siddhu,
a veteran tea planter in Northern Assam.
He said the planters should be persuaded rather than being forced to convert to organic farming.
|