Bara-grown vegetables banned in Kathmandu for pesticide use

By Shiva Shankar Mishra,Bara, Feb. 27: Potatoes and tomatoes produced in Bara district have been banned in Kathmandu after excessive amounts of pesticides were found in the vegetables.

According to Samsul Haque Miya, the crop protection officer of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Kalaiya Bara, potatoes and tomatoes produced in the Bara district were banned in the Kalimati Vegetable Market in Kathmandu due to the use of pesticides other than those prescribed by the government, without the advice from agricultural experts.

The excessive use of pesticides in vegetables has directly affected the health people of in Simraungadh and Pheta. Miya said that the effect of pesticides has been seen in around 25-30 individuals after they consumed pesticide-laden vegetables.

“In the people aged between 5 years and 40 years, lethargy, kidney problems, blindness, high blood pressure, deformity of limbs, and various head problems were seen because of consumption of poisonous vegetables,” he said.

Stating that the bright and attractive green vegetables contain more pesticides, he advised the consumers to use the dirty, insect-infested vegetables sold in the market or to consume products produced by themselves from organic fertilisers.

Similarly, Mohan Mahto, chief of the Office of Crop Protection Laboratory Siraha, said that 45 per cent of the samples of agricultural produce collected and tested from the eight districts in Madhes Province were inedible.

They collected around 190 samples of agricultural produce from Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Siraha and Saptari districts in Madhes Province. During the test, around 35 to 45 per cent of green vegetables were found to be edible after keeping them in quarantine for five to seven days.

Mahato said that for the past two years, there was no pesticide inspection in the laboratories of Nawalpur, Jaleshwor and Birgunj due to the lack of budget for the inspection of agricultural products.

Narayan Prasad Sharma, a resident of Kalaiya Sub-Metropolitan City-1, suggested banning the sale and distribution of pesticides and using organic fertilisers instead of spraying pesticides on crops.