The issue of endosulfan survey in Udupi district figured prominently in the general body meeting of the zilla panchayat here on Saturday.
Raising the issue, Gitanjali Suvarna, panchayat member, demanded to know the status of the endosulfan survey in the district. Ramachandra Bairy, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, said that as per a preliminary survey done by the department in the district as many as 2,156 persons in 73 villages were affected by the spraying of the insecticide on cashew crops in the district. Of the 2,156 persons, 1,558 were in Kundapur taluk, 263 in Udupi taluk and 335 in Karkala taluk.
The government had sanctioned Rs. 11.25 crore to draw up an action plan to deal with the issue in the district. “The plan has been forwarded to the State government for approval. Once the plan was approved, we will hold health camps in the affected areas, do a thorough medical examination and decide on their treatment accordingly,” he said.
To deal with the endosulfan problem, a general committee headed by the district in-charge Minister and an Executive Committee headed by the deputy commissioner had been formed.
These committees, , Dr. Bairy said, would identify endosulfan victims, provide them smart cards so that they could get free medical treatment, make vehicle arrangements to carry disabled persons to hospitals, arrange for a nurse each in every affected gram panchayat.
