Bhubaneswar, Oct 5  :The Odisha Government has banned ”Paraquat”, a highly toxic substance, used as an herbicide to destroy weeds.
The decision to ban the toxic substance was taken in view of public safety and to prevent adverse impact of the chemical on human health and animals, Official sources here on Thursday said.
With the ban order coming into effect, the sale/stock/ distribution/manufacturing/use of this toxic chemical, Paraquat, has been prohibited in the entire state.
As per the provisions of the Insecticides Act, 1968, the ban will be initially effective for a period of two months.
The State Government after eliciting scientific opinion from research institutions and other stakeholders will also propose the Government of India for permanent ban of this chemical in the State of Odisha.
After receiving feedback under the Mo Sarkar initiative, the Chief Minister’s Office had advised the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment to examine the matter of banning Paraquat to prevent any further loss of human lives due to poisoning cases.
In another significant decision, the State Government has now made it mandatory for a prescription by designated officials of the agriculture and relevant Government Departments, as well as scientists of OUAT and Agriculture Research institutes for sale of pesticides and agro-chemicals by authorized dealers.
Detailed Guidelines will be worked out by the Department of Agriculture in this regard.
This will lead to proper usage of pesticides and agro-chemicals as advocated by research scientists, thus reducing the harm on the farmers and the environment, the sources said.