In Gaibandha’s Sundarganj upazila, farmer Md Kamruzzaman has alleged that paddy on his 15 decimals of land was destroyed after he applied medicine purchased from a pesticide shop to control weeds in his paddy field. He has filed written complaints with the Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) and the Department of Agricultural Extension seeking redress.
The affected farmer, Kamruzzaman, is the son of Abdur Jabbar Sarkar of West Belka village in the upazila’s Belka union. The accused pesticide seller, Md Mahbur Mia, is the son of Md Naya Mia of Belka Nawabganj village in the same union.
Farmer Kamruzzaman alleges that after weeds appeared in his paddy field, he tried to seek advice from an agriculture officer. Unable to find the officer, he went to Mahbur Mia’s pesticide shop and asked for medicine to control the weeds in his paddy field. The shopkeeper gave him a 100-milliliter bottle of medicine called “Eraxon 200 SL.” Following the shopkeeper’s advice, he applied it to his paddy field on August 13.
The farmer says the paddy seedlings began dying the very next day after the medicine was applied. He later informed the agriculture officer, who inspected the affected land.
Kamruzzaman said: “I asked for medicine to control weeds in my paddy field. I bought the medicine on the shopkeeper’s advice and applied it to the land. The next day, I saw the paddy seedlings dying. Now, nearly all the paddy on my 15 decimals of land has been destroyed.” Pesticide seller Mahbur Mia, however, said: “I did not make a mistake giving him the medicine, because he told me he wanted it to kill grass on his ‘khaowna bari’ [an empty plot], and took the medicine on that basis.”
Sub-assistant agriculture officer for the area, Md Ershad Mia, said: “After learning of the matter, I inspected the paddy field. All the paddy seedlings have died. I have spoken with the businessman about paying compensation over this.”
Sundarganj upazila agriculture officer Md Kaiyum Chowdhury said: “We are looking into the matter. Necessary action will be taken pending investigation. We need to examine whether the medicine and the method of application were correct. This kind of medicine cannot be sold without a license. We will also verify whether that seller holds a license.”
Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Iffat Jahan Tuli said: “The complaint has not reached me yet. We will look into the matter and take necessary action pending investigation.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report