NAGPUR: A petrol-powered pesticide pump is seen at the doorstep of the house of Janglu Thawri , a victim of the killer spray in Yavatmal. He had used the device on his last day at the fields."We have had this pump with us for the past four years at least. It is easy to use," his son Satish said, remembering his father who died on October 5."People fell ill in the village last year too. I was one of them. A day after spraying, I felt like vomiting and rushed to a private hospital and was cured in a day. It was common those days, I quickly realised the symptoms and went to the hospital. One of the workers, Vithal Atram , died," Satish recalled. According to official data, Satish's father had sprayed Acetop, profefonos and monoctophos. He claimed his father had covered his face and worn a full sleeved shirt. He does not chew tobacco which many do while spraying. This rules out the risk of negligence on his part, he said.A little away at Kayar village, Sangeeta Tekam , whose husband Dattatrey was claimed by the spray, waited outside the panchayat office with a child in her arms. They had come to Kayar, 10km from their home, to get the formalities done for opening a bank account for the Rs2 lakh relief granted by state government. "They say some link is down at the bank here. We have been visiting the bank daily for the last 3-4 days but nothing has happened," said Dattatrey's brother Pandurang. Dattatrey died on October 1 .He had been spraying pesticides for nearly a week before finally taking ill," said his wife."Some people eat tobacco with the same hands," added Pandurang. Both the brothers jointly tilled over 2 acres each of their 4.5-acre farm. "I have two young kids. The younger one is just one-and-a-half-year-old," she said."The Rs2 lakh they give as relief is too less to survive after the breadwinner is gone. The government must grant a higher amount," added the deceased's mother. The road along Wani taluka in Yavatmal is flanked by cotton crops taller than the farm fences. This time rains were erratic, so the roots went deeper due to lack of water, which leads to a higher plant growth. Due to less rains, the fertilizer remained stagnated at the same fields, adding to the growth. As farmers tried to reach out the plants at a height, pesticide is believed to have also come on their face, leading to inhalation.

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