MORE THAN 36 tonnes of highly toxic chemicals are stored even after their date of expiry in the godowns of the Agriculture Inputs Corp at Amlekhgunj, in central Nepal.

The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) says these pesticides were supposed to be burnt in the kiln of the Hetauda cement factory in August 1991, but the plan was abandoned following protests by the Nepali press and non-governmental organisations.

The report contends private firms overcome the problem of disposing the chemicals by merely changing the date on the expiry label.