Lethal link

What is the general understanding of the term 'pesticides'? Interviewee:  Romeo F Quijano

Cotton conundrum

THE Union government was fiddling, till the Bt cotton tangle became a burning issue. Even now — having dithered for five years and subjecting it to 400-odd field trials — the authorities have only set a tentative February 2002 deadline to decide on Bt cotton’s fate in India.

Toxic tales from God's own country

Rachel Carson couldn’t have been more accurate. A disturbing silence is the overarching presence in lands doused with chemical pesticides. Not just Padre — a village in Kerala’s Kasaragod district where the media has reported extensively on the deformity cases — but several new villages in the district are now in the grip of a veritable Silent Spring. The cases — which include childhood blindness, physical retardation and cancer — have been linked to exposure to endosulfan, an insecticide that has been banned in many countries.

Contaminated wheat

something as common and essential as atta (wheat flour) could be poisoned with pesticides. That's what is said in a new study conducted by the Consumer Education and Research Society, Ahmedabad.

India cannot afford organic farming

Can foodgrain production in India be increased further? Interviewee:  S K Sinha

A victim's saga

WHEN THE health of the Earth itself is jeopardised. The health of its inhabitants -- plants and animals, including humans -- can no longer be ensured. When the 'dust, soil and air' are contaminated with carcinogens, a rise in the incidence of cancer in the human population is only inevitable.

Governments alone cannot combat pollution

On the objectives of the Bose Institute: Interviewee:  P K Ray

A pest of a problem

THE Germans may have stopped importing Indian tea treated with chemical fertilisers; and pesticides, but the use of these cannot be entirely prohibited because farming is the mainstay of an estimated 70 million people in our country.

Killing witout dying

After having made a feature film in Malyalam, K P Sasi is back to making documentaries. This time around he is targeting pesticides. Says Sasi, "I have been researching the subject for some time now and would like to share what I have learnt." According to Sasi, his main focus is on documenting the hazards of using pesticides. One such example is that of fish ulcers in Kerala. The second part of his film will show various cases where alternatives to synthetic pesticides have been used successfully, that is, sans the health risks to the population.

Soiled schemes