It’s an alarming situation in Punjab, the granary to the nation, where heavy pesticide usage in the fields is taking a toll on the reproductive health of the people.
“Rising instances of abortion, early menarchy, foetal abnormalities especially neural tube defects and early ageing seem to have a strong correlation to the high pesticide levels in our fields,” said Dr GPI Singh, director principal, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences, Bathinda.
Confirming the trend, retired government medical professional in Patiala, Dr Amar Singh Azad said high levels of pesticide used in the fields have now entered the food chain and are adversely affecting the reproductive health of the locals.
“Cases of premature birth, birth defects, erectile dysfunctions, ovarian cyst, uterine fibroid and number child-less couples are on the rise in the state,” said Dr Azad.
Concerned over the disturbing trend, farm activists like Umendra Dutt of the Kheti Virasat Mission, have written to the central government to intervene in the matter and take immediate steps to reduce the usage of pesticides in the fields of Punjab. “We did bring the matter in the notice of the state government but nothing has happened so far because there are no published figures,” said Dutt.
Farm experts said high usage of pesticides and fertilisers is a legacy of the green revolution, which increased the productivity of Punjab farmlands significantly and provided food security to the country.
It is only in the last decade that the ill effects of these farm practices started showing on the health of the people due to the presence of environmental toxins.
The problem is more pronounced in the cotton growing Malwa region of the state involving districts like Bathinda, Sangrur, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Muktsar.
Experts said the cotton crop requires high doses of pesticides.
Data related to usage of pesticides in Punjab, which has around 1.5 per cent of the land area of the entire country, as against the big states indicates the alarming trend. In 2004-05, Punjab consumed around 6900 metric tonnes of pesticides against 4520 mt in neighbouring Haryana, 6855 mt in UP, 1628 mt in Rajasthan, 749 mt in MP and 3030 mt in Maharashtra.