PARTHENIUM (Gajar Ghas) ATTACK ON UTTARANCHAL ENVIORNMENT

Saying "one year seeding and seven years weeding (weeping)" is aptly true for Parthenium.

It is called "Gajar Grass" - because its leaves resemble the gajar (carrot). It is also called "Congress Grass" because of its longevity and prolific capacity to spread and survive. Its high rate of generation – some 10,000 seeds per plant - seeds having long life to survive - hibernate in the soil for long times and shoot up at favorable soil and climate. Light weight - they spread with air, up and downwards - with traffic-cars and trucks- on the roadsides, and floating in drains, rivers and nallahs downwards germinating at soft soils in freshly cultivated agricultural lands.

According to agro-scientists, during dry summer months, this obnoxious weed appears in harmless rosette form. But during rainy season it grows upto 90 cm height, with profuse flowering and green foliage. It flowers through out the year attacking grazing lands, and wildly colonizing any empty space in jungles and in towns and cities. There is neither climate nor any region, which could be safe from this "foreign colonizing weed". Originally it is an Australian weed.

According to the Australian scientists, Parthenium causes skin-rash and inflammation in milch live-stock (cows) affecting milk-production, and is poisonous to sheep. Animals do not eat it but with sensitive skin of cows, goat and sheep, it causes "contact-dermatitis" in animals. It is especially harmful to our livestock. But to humans, its tiny seeds cause respiratory malfunction, and dermatitis -skin-inflammation.

Particularly, this year, due to good rainy season, the weed has profusely germinated in our Devbhumi Uttaranchal. Acres of acres open spaces, empty urban plots, streets, hillsides, roadsides, borders of farmlands, agro-farms, and huge defence forces lands in our cantonment areas have been covered with healthy growth of this foreign weed. It is an endemic proportion. Situation is alarming in our Himalayan state. The obnoxious weed has spread all the way from Haryana plains to Hardwar, Rishikesh, Srinagar-Garhwal, Kumaon hills, and upto Uttarakashi and beyond.

Unless, the administration takes up the task of controlling and eradicating this weed on a five years planning now, it would adversely affect our nation's health, agricultural lands, development schemes of growing and protecting our herbal wealth, and milk production of our state. Already 15-20 % increase in skin-inflammation and respiratory breathing problems has been reported.

We call upon all the political parties and NGOs and the state administration to take up the task of controlling the spread of the obnoxious foreign weed Parthenium on the war footing now.