Greens attack trial site of GE rice

Published in The New Indian Express, Page 1
All editions, November 10, 2006

By Francis P Barclay

Coimbatore, Nov 10: Around 100 activists belonging to the Tamil Nadu Velan Kappu Kuzhu today destroyed a trial site of genetically engineered (GE) rice at Ramanathapuram village in Alandurai near here.
Velan Kappu Kuzhu is an umbrella organisation of farmers' groups like TNFA, TN Green Movement and TN Organic Farming Movement who have raised a banner of revolt against genetically engineered (GE) crops in the State.
They were protesting today against the field trials of GE crops being conducted by a firm, throwing caution and guidelines to the wind.
The protesters entered the field, uprooted the plants and put up a banner declaring the plot as a GE rice field trial location. They also planted bio-hazard sign posts and demarcated the area.
A private sector seed company has leased the 20-acre village land and is using it as a testing ground by planting genetically engineered rice seeds, allegedly in a discreet manner.
This site is stated to be one among the several locations across the country where field trials of `untested' variety of Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) rice is being carried out.
``The company should not be allowed to step into the State,'' K Chellamuthu, chairman of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association (TNFA) and president of the Farmers Workers Party, said while leading the protest.
These plants have toxins in them right from the root to the tip, he said.
The protesters demanded the district Collector, who heads the district-level committee for monitoring field trials of genetically doctored crops, to pay heed to this trial and the blatant violation of guidelines by the company.
Chellamuthu alleged that the same company sold Bt cotton seeds across India with much hype resulting in farmers' suicides in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The firm's real intention is to destroy the traditional
varieties of seeds and spread hybrid varieties, conceived by foreign companies. Nothing else can be grown in the area where such hybrid varieties are grown, he said.
The Centre's Department of Biotechnology had granted permission to the seed company with objectives including evaluation of performance of the hybrid variety, savings in terms of pesticides and yield. The department also put
forth certain norms to be followed, while conducting the trials.
But, sadly, in this case, the owner of the land, Rangaraju, who leased the land to the company, was completely unaware of the nature of the trial being carried out in his land. Neither the trial spot was isolated nor the
panchayat officials knew about what was going on.
Jeevanandham, president of the Tamil Nadu Green Movement, said that though genetically engineered crops posed a big threat to environment and biodiversity, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and the State
government failed to pay heed. About 1,500 people who consumed GE grains got crippled and 37 others died, he cautioned.
``In Tamil Nadu, GE rice is being grown at several places but we see to it that they are burnt,'' another activist added.