Anti-landmine body to lobby government for ban

The Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines has said it would persuade the government to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines.

At the conclusion of a two-day conference on 'Towards a mine free world and Ottawa Treaty' in New Delhi on Wednesday, the ICBL said it would make serious efforts to create political will on the crucial issue.

ICBL national co-ordinator Balkrishan Kurvey said they planned to lobby the Parliament Standing Committee on Defence, on the issue.

Dr Kurvey appreciated the government for looking at the humanitarian aspect of the Ottawa Treaty, and said the issue of landmines could be tackled through dialogue.

Environmentalist and biologist Dr L K Dadhich said toxic elements in landmines contained poisonous lead and mercury, which lead to soil erosion and pollute the environment.

Wildlife board member from Maharashtra, Dilip Yardi, said landmines were hazardous to wild animals. Several incidents have been reported of  wild animals succumbing to landmine blasts.

India is committed to the humanitarian ideals of the Ottawa Treaty, he said, adding that the government had certain reservations on signing the agreement due to the long porous border it shares with its neighbours. However, India had attended all meetings on the issue since the Nairobi Review Conference as an observer, Yardi said.