India News | RSS-affiliated Trade Body Demands Complete Ban on Use of Herbicide Glyphosate

New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) demanded a complete ban on the use of glyphosate on Friday and urged the Union agriculture ministry to withdraw its notification on a restricted use of the herbicide.

The ministry, in a draft notification issued on July 8, restricted the use of glyphosate only through pest control operators (PCOs).

Also Read | Uttarakhand Reports 278 New COVID-19 Cases Today: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on August 7, 2020.

Terming the notification "ill-conceived", the SJM said the proposed measure of allowing the use of glyphosate through PCOs is meaningless as it will be impossible to implement it and control the illegal practices by which the herbicide is presently being used.

"We express our objection very categorically that the entire concept of restricted use is ill-conceived and what is needed is a total ban on glyphosate use in India," SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said.

Also Read | Baby Elephant Found Dead Under Achankovil Bridge in Kerala's Pathanamthitta District.

Claiming that the use of glyphosate will be "economically destructive" for the country, he said it will destroy employment and remove a vital income source for poor rural households, who depend on weeding income. At the same time, it could also lead to rejection of export consignments containing glyphosate residues by those countries, which have strict levels for pesticide residues.

Mahajan also claimed that glyphosate contaminates the soil and water, destroys useful plant species and that the chemical is under various litigations in the US.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)