Pesticides are being used to ripen bananas!

The Dhaka Times Desk It is very difficult to calculate what we are eating and not eating. Now the news is out that the poison is being used to kill insects to ripen bananas!

Sources said that bananas are being ripened by spraying the insecticide 'DDT'. There is no one to see the poison that the customer is consuming in the name of eating bananas. It is known that various types of chemicals are used for the rapid growth of bananas. Then a class of profit-seeking businessmen sprayed unripe bananas with 'DDT' and other chemicals to ripen them. In this way chemicals are being used in bananas in two phases. Some farmers who did not wish to reveal their names said that the cost is less and the profit is more.

On the other hand, experts say, 'Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane' or DDT is commonly used to control insects. And when mixed with other chemicals with 'DDT', its power increases several times. Which causes serious damage in less time if it enters the human body. Causes various diseases including cancer. Women are especially at risk of developing breast cancer. They said, the month of Ramadan is ahead. At this time, the value of bananas is a little higher. So the profit-seeking traders ripen and store bananas and other fruits using formalin to prevent rotting and keep them for a long time.

According to doctors, if someone dies after eating food mixed with 'DDT' and chemicals, even if the body is exhumed from the grave many years later, traces of that chemical will be found. They said that the radioactivity of these chemicals is not lost even in 150 years.

Trucks full of bananas are going from different parts of the country to different district cities including the capital Dhaka every day. Most of these bananas are using various chemicals for quick ripening or to prevent rotting. But no one has ever thought that these chemicals can cause serious damage to the human body. Talking to those involved with these practices, it is known that they have never thought of so many things. They know that this medicine can be sold for a long time. But they cannot imagine how deadly it can be for the human body.

According to a report of Daily Ittefak, about 6 thousand acres of land are cultivated in Madhupur upazila of Tangail district. Meher sagar and sabri banana cultivation is more common here. Farmers openly admit that DDT, a chemical compound smuggled from India, is used twice in bananas. A round is given at the beginning of the coming of the banana. It kills the insects and the banana leaves no spots and grows quickly. In the second phase, the same banana is sprayed to obtain a yellow color. Bananas are cultivated in Ghatail, Sakhipur, Muktagacha, Fulbari and nearby Bhaluka upazilas of the district. Farmers said that bananas were cut from the trees and left on the side of the road. There, the drum filled with formalin-mixed water, the banana leaves are taken to the truck with a dip. They admit that these bananas are supplied all over the country including the capital.

Local agriculturists share the same opinion about chemicals, saying that even the users themselves do not know what kind of poison they are using. Agriculture experts said that they are playing with life.

On the other hand, bananas are cultivated in Sadar, Palash, Manohardi and Shippur upazilas of Narsingdi district. The seafood of this area is very famous. The use of toxic chemicals in bananas has been going on for several years. But this banana is not eaten by local residents. A few farmers said that it was sent for the gentlemen of Dhaka.

Sagarkala of Rampal in Munshiganj district headquarters had a good reputation. Due to the use of chemicals in that banana, the farmers were forced to stop banana cultivation under the pressure of the local people. Now, instead of bananas, potatoes are being cultivated here.

If this is the case, then it has become necessary to prevent the use of these chemicals that are harmful to the human body. Experts believe that the relevant authorities of the government will look into the issues and protect the people of the country from these deadly diseases.