Hyacinth menace — KCB helpless

Monsanto – a multinational dealing in herbicides which had approached the cantonment board to spray the river with Round Up – a herbicide chemical to dissolve the weeds, is yet to report back to the cantonment authorities. This despite the fact that the cantonment board had already granted the tender to Monsanto, subject to the condition that the company gets a clearance from the Ministry of Defence.

It may be mentioned here that Monsanto had earlier supplied Round Up to the cantonment board which was poured onto the river surface. However, the effort did not succeed since it was discovered that the amount of the chemical was not enough to shrivel the hyacinth. The board then decided to use a helicopter to spray the river with the chemical which ended up causing a major flutter among environmentalists like Kalpavriksha in the city. Environmentalists argued that spraying the river with Round Up would kill aquatic life and that the chemical used was not eco-friendly. The board had little option but to call off the project.

The cantonment board later took a decision to call for tenders from private parties to remove the hyacinth from the river. This was when Monsanto decided to bid for the contract. Since the company offered the lowest bid, the contract was offered to it. However, a condition was attached by the cantonment board officials making it clear that the company would have to submit a no-objection certificate from the Defence Ministry.

Meanwhile, environmental organisations like Greenpeace also wrote to the cantonment board not to use the herbicide chemical, Glyphosate, due to its toxic effects. The organisation in fact advised the board to consider the manual weeding process to ensure the long term health of the river and also identify the root cause of the overgrowth.

Sources in the cantonment reported that the company was yet to produce the NOC and also not approached the board since, leaving little option for the board authorities to go ahead with its manual weeding process – a laborious task. The board authorities are hoping that the rain will wash away the weed. Until then, the menace will continue.