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Illegal Bt brinjal farming in Haryana, allege activists
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SME Times News Bureau | 25 Apr, 2019
Illegal cultivation of Bt brinjal has been found in some parts of
Haryana, the Coalition for a GM-Free India alleged on Thursday, citing
tests it conducted on suspected genetically modified brinjals collected
from two farms in the state's Sirsa and Fatehabad districts.
Representatives
of the coalition held a press conference here demanding action against
the people behind the supply of Bt brinjal seeds and saplings to
farmers.
They conducted "strip tests" during the conference to
prove that the collected samples from Haryana were actually genetically
modified.
Rajinder Chaudhary of Kudrati Kheti Abhiyan said the
said samples have been sent to a private testing laboratory for further
confirmation.
"We got to know about the Bt brinjal farming
through our contacts last week. When we visited those farms and made
inquiries, we were told by farmers that saplings were provided to them
through unknown sources," he said.
Kapil Shah of Jatan Trust said
complaints have been filed with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal
Committee (GEAC) of the Union Environment Ministry, and the Departments
of Agriculture and Horticulture in Haryana.
"We also have sent
the samples to the GEAC. While there have been no word from the GEAC as
yet, the Haryana government has promised to look into the matter."
Bt brinjal has been developed by Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech.
Sridhar
Radhakrishnan of NGO Thanal said that the country cannot afford to
allow Bt brinjal cultivation to continue or spread when the Central
government has placed indefinite moratorium of its commercial release
since February 2010.
"It is clear that this bio-hazard has to be
contained and destroyed, and GEAC cannot allow citizens to be exposed to
the health and environmental hazards of Bt brinjal," he said.
Shah asked if the regulatory authorities were capable of checking the use of Bt brinjal seeds.
"Cultivation
of Herbicide tolerant (Ht) soybean was found in Gujarat a few years
ago. Subsequently, complaints were filed. However, we do not know what
happened after that. What are regulatory authorities doing?" he said.
These activists demanded "criminal proceedings" be initiated against the responsible for the distribution of GM seeds.
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