The Sainis, who have grown brinjal on three kanals (less than half-an-acre) of rented land, are at the centre of a brewing storm over the “use of Bt brinjal” or other genetically modified crop in Haryana.
Fatehabad: “WHAT CRIME have we committed?” asks Miro Rani, the fear visible on her face. Rani, 50, is the wife of Ishar Saini, a 62-year-old brinjal farmer near Ratia town in Fatehabad.
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The Sainis, who have grown brinjal on three kanals (less than half-an-acre) of rented land, are at the centre of a brewing storm over the “use of Bt brinjal” or other genetically modified crop in Haryana.
On Thursday, a panel of experts established by the Haryana government recommended that their crop be uprooted. “Government officials came today and asked us to uproot the crop. We will do it on Friday,” says Saini.
Officials say the recommendation is based on a report by the National Bureau for Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), which found that samples taken from Saini’s farm had been genetically modified.
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