The Bathinda agriculture department officials on Sunday seized nearly 1,200 litres of pesticides and insecticides without licence — to be delivered in Bhucho village in Punjab’s Bathinda district — which were delivered from Haryana.

The pesticides and insecticides were meant for spraying on cotton crops, which are facing whitefly attack in certain pockets.The authorities said that the “fake bill” for the consignment was being verified. The samples of the pesticides have been collected and police asked to register an FIR.

Bathinda agriculture development officer (ADO), plant protection, Asmanpreet Singh said, “We had information that a light commercial vehicle, loaded with pesticides without licence for Punjab, has been spotted at Bhucho. The vehicle had been loaded at a pesticide firm in Kaithal in Haryana. Acting on it, the vehicle was stopped and pesticides were downloaded.”
The bill seemed fake, which was prepared to mislead the authorities as the company had no licence to supply pesticides in Punjab.

The pesticides — Emamectin Benzoate 1.9% EC and Thifluzamide 24% SC — were seized. It is learned that the consignment was to be delivered directly to the farmers in villages around Bhucho. The complaints of spurious or sub-standard pesticides and insecticides had been flying thick even as these had failed to control the impact of pest attack on cotton crops. It was found that the bill seemed fake, which was prepared to mislead the authorities as the company had no licence to supply pesticides in Punjab.