Don8217;t squander greenery: Dharia

PUNE, July 1: Unlike other countries, India has a vast vegetation and due to the failure of leadership we have failed to utilise the land pr...

PUNE, July 1: Unlike other countries, India has a vast vegetation and due to the failure of leadership we have failed to utilise the land properly, said Mohan Dharia, president of Vanarai and former deputy chairman of the planning commission said on Tuesday, emphasising on a time-bound programme to make forest land productive.

While addressing a seminar on Parthenium and Water Hyacinth 8211; the Menace8217;, he deplored indiscriminate destruction of greenery. Destruction, he felt, was not the right answer to the growing menace of weeds like parthenium and water hyacinth. Instead effort should be made to see that in what way these plants could be properly utilised in other productive or useful ways.

The seminar was part of a national awareness campaign launched by Monsanto, an American Life Sciences company, that has introduced a herbicide to eradicate the two weeds, in what is being claimed as an environment-friendly manner.

In his presentation, Dr PS Patki, Professor, Pharmacology, BJ Medical College, emphasised that human contact with Parthenium causes asthma, skin irritations, rashes and other nasal, skin and respiratory allergies.

Water hyacinth is the unwanted and undesired vegetation that reproduces and grows in water and if left unchecked may choke the water body causing immense damage to the ecosystem. Not only does it create health hazards by affecting water quality and reducing quantities of potable water but it also fosters malaria, yellow fever, river blindness, encephalitis and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Round Up8217;, which the company claimed was its largest selling herbicide, has proved to be effective in eradication of Parthenium and Water Hyacinth. The herbicide promises to control water hyacinth, if not eradicate it in three to four years.

The seminar was attended by the Health Officers of the PMC and PCMC and representatives of the Khadki Cantonment Board. Mohan Dharia, President, Vanarai was the Chief Guest of the occasion. Speakers included Dr PS Patki, pharmacology professor, BJ Medical College and Nibedita Panigrahi, Communication Manager, Monsanto.