Demand For Ban On Lethal Herbicide Paraquat Growing

Hanamkonda District Agriculture Officer (DAO) Ravinder Singh pointed out that fertiliser dealers are strictly required to follow rules and sell paraquat dichloride based only on a formal prescription issued by Mandal Agricultural Officer (MAO) or Agricultural Extension Officer (AEO) after a field inspection. Failure to comply with this condition can lead to immediate cancellation of the fertiliser dealer’s license.

However, it has become common for farmers to reuse old prescriptions for repeat purchases. This is despite shop owners being prohibited from selling the herbicide on previous prescriptions. A new prescription for every purchase is mandatory, the DAO pointed out.

Practical difficulties in enforcing this condition are evident in erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts. A local fertiliser dealer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they are struggling due to the prescription-based system. While some farmers bring formal prescriptions, a large number of them remain unaware. Many travel from distant villages to reach their shops. Considering this, the product is being sold to them.

The deadly nature of paraquat dichloride has led to a decade-long study by Dr. Manjusha Yadla, Head of the Nephrology Department, Gandhi Hospital. She has analysed 400 cases and found that 73.7 per cent of patients succumbed to the poison despite receiving medical treatment. 90 per cent of these cases are intentional ingestion driven by financial distress and social pressures, with the average age of victims being just 30 years.

In Karimnagar, 24-year-old Katikareddy Sumanth used the herbicide to take his life over the inability to pay a motorcycle EMI. A 45-year-old farmer Mogili Laxman in Achannapalli village of Rajanna Sircilla district consumed paraquat dichloride at his field after falling into a debt trap caused by failed borewells.

More poignant is the account of a 25-year-old female farmer in Karimnagar. After a domestic quarrel, she swallowed the toxin in a moment of heat. Upon reaching the hospital, she pleaded with doctors to save her for the sake of her two small children. However, because paraquat causes irreversible systemic failure, she died.

It is estimated that nearly 2,000 people die across Telangana every year after consuming this herbicide. Recognising its lethal nature, states like Kerala, Odisha and Punjab have banned paraquat dichloride, as it has no known antidote.
Dr. Mahesh Reddy, a physician who has witnessed such tragedies first-hand, has been touring the erstwhile Karimnagar district to educate farmers that there is no medical cure once the herbicide enters the bloodstream.

Significantly, Warangal MP Dr. Kadiyam Kavya has on Friday demanded in the Lok Sabha an immediate national ban on the dangerous paraquat herbicide. Speaking during the Zero Hour, she pointed out how the chemical is damaging the environment and becoming choice of suicides in rural areas. She underlined that because there is no known antidote to the herbicide ingestion, almost 100 per cent of people who consume it end up dying.

At a recent awareness meeting, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Telangana chapter president Dr. P. Kishan termed paraquat dichloride an enabler of death in rural households. As loopholes are continuing to add to the death toll, Dr. Kishan said the IMA is preparing for a national-level “Chalo Delhi” protest, seeking a total and effective ban on the production and sale of all forms of paraquat.

The Telangana State Farmers Commission has reiterated its plea for a total ban on the herbicide, noting that over 70 countries have already prohibited the substance. The issue has reached the highest levels of governance, with the commission submitting a detailed report to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao.

The commission has urged the state to move beyond local restrictions and petition the central government for a nationwide ban on paraquat.