Deadly insecticide which killed 23 schoolchildren in Bihar finally banned
As many as 23 schoolchildren died and many fell ill after they were served midday meal laced with Monocrotophos, a deadly agricultural insecticide, in July 2013.
All the victims were enrolled in a government primary school running at Dharmashati-Gandaman village in Saran district of Bihar.
Monocrotophos is among 18 pesticides having been banned by the centre after they were found posing severe threats to lives of human and animals.
The centre banned them acting on the advice of an expert committee from Indian Agricultural Research Institute. As per the reports, the affects of these insecticides were found on agricultural products even six months after their use.
“Of the 18 pesticides banned, one had been found in the midday meal of Gandaman school,” a local agricultural scientist Prabhat Kumar told the local media today.
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