ARIYALUR: A Young farmer in the district died after spraying pesticides on his cotton field on Sunday. P Loganathan, aged 18, son of Palanisamy, from Angianur near Venganur in Ariyalur taluk of Ariyalur district was farming with his father on their two acres of land.
He was helping him by spraying pesticides and also did the job on land belonging to other farmers ever since cotton cultivation began for the season.
Loganathan complained to his father of uneasiness after waking up on Saturday morning. He was taken to the primary healthcare centre on Keezhapalur in the afternoon from where he was referred and admitted to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital at around 1 am on Sunday.
Loganathan died at 3 am. A case has been registered with Venganur police station based on a complaint by his father as postmortem was conducted. Loganathan’s death due to pesticide poisoning is the third such fatality in Ariyalur and the eighth in the State. Loganathan’s death was the first to be registered with a police station on the same day.
All eight farmers died after spraying chemicals on their pest-infested fields cultivated with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton, a genetically modified crop which has pushed the desi variety to the brink of extinction. Many experts consider Bt cotton a failure as it has been unable to keep its original purpose of staving off pests.
Paddy pesticide opens its account
Perambalur: A farmer died after spraying pesticide in another’s paddy field near Perambalur on Saturday. Devendran, aged 45 and Lakshmanan, who are from Ezhumur were reportedly spraying pesticides on the land of Sivakumar in Sithali. Sivakumar had cultivated paddy in his field. While spraying pesticides, Devendran fell sick from inhaling the chemicals. He collapsed on the spot.
People nearby tried to give first aid. He managed to regain consciousness and sat up again. Yet, in a few minutes, he collapsed and died. The police retrieved Devendran’s body and sent it for postmortem to Government Perambalur Hospital. Another farmer from Kolakkanatham was hospitalised after he allegedly sprayed pesticides.
