By Colin Todhunter
In 2017, the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra in India experienced a mass poisoning incident: hundreds of cotton farmers and farm workers suffered severe symptoms after spraying pesticides, with at least 23 deaths reported.
Official police records linked 96 poisoning cases—two fatal—directly to Syngenta’s insecticide Polo, with 36 cases involving only Polo and the rest involving it in combination with other pesticides.
Survivors described symptoms including temporary blindness, unconsciousness, nausea and respiratory distress.
Swiss company Syngenta has denied responsibility, claiming there is absolutely no evidence Polo was involved. In response, 51 affected families, supported by advocacy groups, filed a complaint with the Swiss OECD National Contact Point in 2020, seeking compensation and preventive measures.
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