THE loss of a child can be unbearable and unforgettable for parents. Can one fathom the pain and grief of that gentleman of Layyah who lost nine grown-up children — a daughter and sons — to the poisonous sweets. The casualties included the father of a newborn grandson. The happy celebrations of a grandson’s birth ended in an unimaginable tragedy. Luckily the mother of the newborn did not consume the deadly sweets.

In addition to that family, other people of the town also fell ill who had purchased sweets from the same shop. More than 70 people were hospitalised, of them more than 30 died.

In the Layyah incident, one of the owners of the sweets shop is said to have stored some packets of certain herbicide at the same place where the ingredients for sweets preparation were kept. Apparently he did not even alert the other owner and their servant about herbicides, either of whom mistook the herbicides for certain ingredient of sweets that resulted in poisoning to such a magnitude.

It has also been reported that it was a legally banned substance which is still freely available in the market by certain brand names. Google search of these brand names did not yield result; however, once sulfony was also reported in the press which was surely wrong.

Sulphonylureas are a newer class of herbicides said to be least toxic to humans and other mammals. Another somewhat similar name that I could find on the net is Sulfotep which is actually a very different substance than sulfonylureas. It is a highly toxic organophosphorus compound which is banned in several countries due to its high toxicity.

The onus for the availability of banned chemicals in the market lies on the ministry responsible for controlling the import, manufacturing, and marketing of the pesticides and herbicides, and it should be held responsible for such tragedies.

Besides this, the agriculture extension service (do we have one?) should vigorously raise the awareness among the farmers about the precautions and safe use of pesticides and herbicides. They should be particularly told to strictly avoid storing these chemicals (and fertilisers as well) anywhere near eatables or drinking water; and not to use their empty containers for storing anything else.

Prof (Dr) Surayya Khatoon

Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016