Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan wrote to Chief Ministers of other States on Wednesday urging them to support a national ban on endosulfan.
The Chief Minister also urged his counterparts to demand that India should adopt a stand in favour of global ban on endosulfan at the conference of parties to the Stockholm Convention which is to end on Friday.
Mr. Achuthanandan narrated the health and environmental impact of the use of the pesticide for three decades in Kasaragod district of Kerala. More than 80 countries, which had realised the dangers of the pesticide, had either banned or decided to phase-out its use. However, the Centre was adamant that the use of endosulfan should continue in India, disregarding the experience in Kerala. There was urgent need of ban on the pesticide nationally, without waiting for the results of further studies.
The Chief Minister has also sent them a report on the tragedy caused by endosulfan in Kasaragod district and relief measures taken by the State government.
