SRINAGAR, 5 March: Department of Agriculture, Kashmir, today conducted inspections and raids of various agro-chemical outlets and warehouses throughout the valley and seized five tonnes of what a department spokesperson called “misbranded fungicides”.
According to a statement to Ziraat Times, the Department said that Director Agriculture Kashmir Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal, along with Joint Director Agriculture Extension, Mohammad Muzaffer, and Deputy Director Law Enforcement Mohammad Younis Chowdhary, inspected various warehouses/outlets dealing with fungicides and pesticides of South Kashmir’s Kulgam and Anantnag districts.
In a similar kind of action Joint Director Agriculture (Apiculture & Mushroom Development) Farooq Ahmad Shah along with Assistant Director Law Enforcement and Law Enforcement Inspector Srinagar conducted inspections in Srinagar district. During the inspection of a warehouse at Khonmoh, 5 tonnes of misbranded fungicide was seized and action under relevant law has been initiated against the erring dealer, the department said.
Sources told Ziraat Times that the seized consignment bore the trade mark of Oswal company, and it is yet to be ascertained whether the seized consignment at Khanmoh belongs to Oswal company or fake labels had been used with the fake/misbranded consignment.
Meanwhile, Syed Muhammad Yusuf, President Pesticides Dealers Association, J&K, while confirming the seizures told Ziraat Times that it has been the association’s consistent stand that the relevant authorities should do pre-testing of agro-chemicals at warehouse/go-down level only so that only genuine products reach the retail stage for distribution and use by farmers. The Association has also called for upgradation of the government testing lab in Srinagar to raise its range of testing from the existing 30 molecules to at least 60 molecules.
“We also urge the government that such inspections must be conducted by the Enforcement Wing of the Agriculture Department only and not Revenue Department officials who are neither trained nor competent to conduct such inspections”, Mr Yusuf further said.
Meanwhile, in district Kupwara a monitoring team headed by Joint Director Agriculture Inputs / Marketing /PHM Amir ud din Andrabi, along with Chief Agriculture Officer, Kupwara, District Agriculture Officer Kupwara, concerned Inspector made a series of surprise inspections of premises of dealers dealing with agriculture inputs and asked the dealers for carrying their business as per the Act.
In the meanwhile inspections were made by the internal monitoring squad headed by Joint Director Seeds, Pesticides and Fertilizers Mohammad Iqbal Khan in districts Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam. Similar raids were carried out in other districts also.
