Pesticide dealers call off 3-day stir

Our Correspondent

Abohar, October 1

Pesticide dealers in Abohar and its neighbouring towns today called off their three-day strike after Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal assured them that the police would not harass them.

They were protesting the arrest of two employees of Zamindara Pesticides Company.

Sources said Punjab Pesticides and Fertiliser Dealers’ Association president Raj Kumar Rassewatt and presidents of Abohar, Fazilka, Malout, Muktsar and Mansa units met Sukhbir Singh Badal at Jaimalwala village yesterday and resented the police action against the two employees.

They reportedly reminded the Deputy Chief Minister of the assurance given to the association last year that only the manufacturers would face action if a sample failed a test.

Officials, who attended the meeting, said action had been taken against the company since it was reportedly illegally manufacturing pesticides.

Sukhbir reportedly said he would stick to the previous assurance and advise dealers not to sell substandard and unpacked products.

He said a drive against spurious pesticides would be launched in the state and they would act against erring manufacturers.

Meanwhile, a court has stayed the arrest of Om Parkash Dhamija, owner of Zamindara Pesticides Company, till October 6. Two cases had been registered against the company staff under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and the Pesticides Act alleging that substandard pesticides marketed by the firm had damaged crops.

In a related action, the Wahabwala police raided residence of Jitender Singh at Dodewala village and arrested his father Gurdeep Singh. Jitender was working as an accountant at a branch of the company at Rajpura village.

The court remanded Gurdeep in one-day custody for investigation. It has been alleged that unlicensed stock of pesticide was found in the residence.