Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan went on a seven-hour fast at the Martyrs' Column here on Monday demanding a ban on Endosulfan and seeking Central assistance for the victims of the pesticide.
About 500 people from different walks of life joined the fast, held as part of a State-wide observation of Anti-Endosulfan Day by the government.
Later, they took a pledge to fight the menace of the pesticide. Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran administered the pledge.
In districts
Ministers led protests at district headquarters, including Kasaragod, where about 5,000 people were affected by aerial spraying of the pesticide in cashew plantations of the State-owned Plantation Corporation of India.
The fast coincided with a Conference of Parties to Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants that began in Geneva on Monday.
The conference will consider a global ban on the pesticide which has reportedly caused more than 150 diseases, mostly affecting the nervous, immune, and reproductive systems.
Launching the fast, the Chief Minister said the dangers of using Endosulfan were getting more acute with more cases being reported from different parts of the State and outside. In Karnataka, 96 villages were affected, he noted.
Manmohan misled
Referring to the Central government's stand that a national ban was possible only if health problems were reported from other States also, he said it was regrettable that the Centre chose to wait for more deaths. Endosulfan was a poison that should not be used anymore. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been misled by those supporting the pesticide lobby.
When an all-party delegation from the State met the Prime Minister recently, he chose to side with his Ministers who stood for the pesticide industry. Mr. Achuthanandan said the issue should be resolved above politics, as it concerned all.
The Chief Minister took lime juice from poet Sugathakumari at 5 p.m. to end the fast. Speaking on the occasion, he said India's stand against a global ban on the pesticide was deplorable.
Mr. Divakaran presided over the agitation. Minister for Public Works and Law M. Vijayakumar welcomed the gathering. State Education Minister M.A. Baby, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Minister of State, O. Rajagopal, film actor Suresh Gopi, Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly, and several writers and artists were among those who joined the protest.
According to reports from districts, organisations such as the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the Karshaka Sanghom, the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association, service organisations, film personalities, and their organisations either associated with the government-sponsored fast or organised their own protests. These included marches, signature campaign, public meetings and burning of effigies.
Keywords: Endosulfan, Satyagraha, V.S. Achuthananadan, Production ban
Comments:
Achuthanandan should write to Karnataka and all other states to enlist their support. A coalition of states which want the ban, should petition the Centre together. The novelty of such an action itself would make waves. It will also force the Centre to abandon its sham democratic posture that it "must consult other states".
The people of Kerala are being taken for a media ride again, as with the Manchium, goat farms swindles, and the false rosy publicity about the Smart City and other cities. Disaster happened in Kasargode only because the Plantation Corporation owned by the government, kept on spraying the pesticide indiscriminately from the sky from helicopters, for decades together. Why they did so is clear; they acted at the behest of the helicopter leasers. The pesticide is produced mostly by the public sector HOC and not by any private company. Some private interests are trying to dislodge this PSU from the field. For once, Pawar is being fair! The media, politicians and the paid intellectuals are all acting under vicious influence. That the power to ban a pesticide is within the State government's jurisdiction from 2006, is very pertinent; and calls the lie on the LDF. The unpleasant truth has to be told! NEVERTHELSS, ALL CHEMICAL FERTILISERS ARE TO BE SHUNNED.
OK.. I dont understand why is there so much confusion in making a decission. It is obvious that this pesticide is hazardous to health and has countless sideeffects. People with minimum common sense would definitely say NO to this. Many countries has already banned this. Then why not India..These countries still prevail even without using Endosulfan. So whats the point of using this killer pesticide.. I sincerely dont understand how PM Manmohan Singh could be mislead by the lobbyist...Why and what is creating the dilemma for the Central Governmet to make the apt decission right away?? Are they waiting for more states to report the death of some poor people. Who will they complain to?? May be these chemicals are destorting the life of some poor souls.. What benefit would the lobbyist who are persuading the authorities in banning the chemical get? I feel really sorry and pathetic who are waiting for more people to die to make a decission? In many social websites, people are referring to their sathyagraha taken to ban endosulfaan.. Is this much drama necessary?? Think logically if we need our nation to be progress.