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Akot farmers sowed banned HT Bt seeds, confirms lab report

Nagpur: Laboratory tests at the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) have confirmed that the cotton seeds sowed by Akot farmers last month were herbicide tolerant (HT Bt). The samples sent by the Akola district collector to CICR have tested positive for the HT Bt gene.

However, both, CICR director as well as district collector, refused to officially comment on the report.

TOI learnt from official sources that the samples had been sent to CICR. “We get so many samples from all over for testing. The samples are coded and results are also sent in coded format. So, I cannot specifically say that the seeds used by Akot farmers were HT Bt,” said CICR director VN Waghmare. But he did admit that a lot of samples that were recently coming to the institute were HT Bt positive.

Akola collector Jitendra Papalkar too refused to comment specifically on the issue. He told TOI that the laboratory where samples of seeds sowed by protesting farmers were sent had found the samples positive for banned HT Bt. “FIR has been lodged and police are conducting the required investigations against the farmers,” he said.

Farmers in Akot tehsil of Akola district had allegedly sowed HT Bt seeds under the banner of Shetkari Sangathana. They were demanding that the ban on HT Bt should be lifted.

Shetkari Sanghatna had conducted a protest on June 10 against the central government’s restrictions on HT Bt cotton, by sowing the banned varieties. But they were booked under the Environment Protection Act and the Seeds Act besides provisions of IPC.

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