Pesticide use causes suffering in Varendra region in Bangladesh
Groundwater is being given more importance in everything, including crop cultivation. As a result, the groundwater level in the Varendra region has now decreased. On the other hand, the use of lethal pesticides has increased in agricultural land. Its level has reached alarming levels in the last 20 years. These two reasons have threatened the environment and public health of the Varendra region.
Researchers made these statements at a meeting on January 2 morning in Rajshahi University on the presentation of two research studies titled Understanding the historical nature of the water crisis in the Varendra region and the impact of lethal pesticides on the environment and public health. The event was organized by the research institutes BARCIK and Sabuj Samhati in Rajshahi.
Research assessed the effects of lethal pesticides on the environment and public health through 100 Bell Study investigations across four agro-ecological regions in the country: the drought-prone Varendra region, Manikganj rivers, char areas, and Satkhira’s coastal area.
The research “Understanding the Historicity of Water Crisis in the Varendra Region” was presented by Abhijit Roy, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Rajshahi. He presented the research at a program organized by the research institute Barsik and Sabuj Samhati, Rajshahi.
Abhijit Roy said that the Varendra region has been a drought-prone area since ancient times. Although there was a radical development in surface water management from ancient times to the Middle Ages, from the Gauda period to the Sultanate, less importance was given to local water sources during the British period.
The rules of water management were also broken. As a result, water sources started to deteriorate. At the same time, the forest land was destroyed. The Varendra region gradually turned into a wasteland.
This researcher believes that no importance was given to the protection or development of reservoirs during the Pakistani period. He said that during the Pakistani period, the first 1,555 mechanized tubewells started in West Pakistan in the 1960s. This marks the beginning of the journey to harness groundwater through the use of machinery. Now, thousands of deep tube wells are being used to draw water.
Pavel Partha, a researcher and director of BARCIK, led a study on the effects of harmful pesticides on the environment and public health in four agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. He noted that banned pesticides are still being sold in the country. Farmers and pesticide dealers often do not know this. Banned pesticides are reappearing on the market under new names.
The program was chaired by Mahbub Siddiqui, a river and environmental researcher and president of Rajshahi Green Coalition. The program was chaired by North Bengal International University Vice Chancellor Dr. Bidhan Chandra Das as the main discussant.
Shahidul Islam, Research Coordinator of BARCIK ‘s Varendra region, spoke. About 50 farmers, youth, and men and women from different agro-ecological regions, including Rajshahi, Netrokona, Satkhira, and Dhaka, participated in the program.
