The State government should implement the proposed comprehensive rehabilitation package for endosulfan victims in a time-bound manner, environmental activist Medha Patkar has said.
She was addressing a public meeting organised by the Anti-Endosulfan Campaign Committee, after a march to the Collectorate, here on Tuesday.
“Despite a sustained campaign against the pesticide, both the Central and State governments are on adopting a lackadaisical approach in implementing the rehabilitation package,” she said.
The police blocked the march at B.C. Road. The agitators squatted on the road and held the public meeting there at Number 17, Vidyanagar locality.
Various panels had recommended the implementation of the package. The National Human Rights Commission had recommended an aid of Rs.5 lakh each to the victims. It had also recommended the setting up of a tribunal to decide on the actual compensation amount, she said.
The State governments should set up a medical college hospital in the district to cater to the needs of those plagued by health hazards, Ms. Patkar said adding that it was startling that the Prime Minister had not visited the place.
P. Karunakaran, MP, said the Centre was keen on safeguarding the interests of corporate business houses.
Anti-Endosulfan Campaign Committee chairman K.B. Mohammed Kunhi presided over the function. Y.S. Mohan Kumar, physician and anti-endosulfan campaigner; and writer Ambika Suthan Mangad expressed concern over the State government's ‘move to give a clean chit to the Plantation Corporation.'
Keywords: endosulfan victims
A medical college in Kasargod to support the victims of endosulphan and
financial support for them, is something we need to implement without
delay. Hope Medha Patkar's meeting will open the eyes of the concerned
officials
Even before 24 hours of the ban on exports of cotton is over, our
agriculture minister is busy jumping up and down about how bad it is and
how it is going to harm farmers. Hundreds of farm labour have been dying
here for years due to the poison being fed to them by pesticide
companies and the minister has done his best to sabotage a ban against
the killer pesticide.
I agree that the toxic insecticide Endosufan should be banned and at the same time we should come up with altenate methods/technologies to replace this insecticide so that pests would be controlled and the crop production be increased. Integrated Pest Management collaborative Support Program (IPM CRSP) has been in operation at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)for the past eight years and it has developed several technologies to replace pesticides including Endosufan. A classic example is the control of papaya mealybug throughout southern India without using a drop of insecticide. Recently IPM CRSP held a workshop in Trichi on IPM packages developed for vegetable crops. It was attended by over 700 farmers. Hopefully IPM packages developed at TNAU will be widely adopted in India and pesticide usage be markedly reduced.
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