Terming as “very serious” the diseases suspected to have been caused by the use of Endosulfan in the Plantation Corporation of Kerala's cashew estates in the district, the National Human Rights Commission has recommended setting up a multi super-specialty hospital here to treat the victims.
The health situation arising out of the use of Endosulfan on the PCK land is very serious and all agencies, including the government, people's representatives and voluntary agencies, should join hands to mitigate the plight of the victims, NHRC Chairman Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said here on Saturday.
Justice Balakrishnan, who met a few victims and their families at the Collectorate Conference hall, noted down their grievances.
“The NHRC will recommend both the Central and State governments to set up a multi super-specialty hospital and palliative care centres on a priority basis to provide timely and effective treatment to the victims,” Justice Balakrishnan said after talks with people's representatives and voluntary organisations involved in rehabilitation efforts.
Some of the mental and physical deformities could be cured, for which the victims should get treatment from experts, he said.
The administration and other agencies should make joint effort to ensure that the rehabilitation packages and medical facilities announced by the government and other agencies reached the affected, he said.
The NHRC Chairman's remarks came when the mother of a nine-year-old victim told him that her family was getting only Rs. 240 as pension while another woman said they were not keeping informed by the officials concerned about the government-sponsored medical camps.
He suggested setting up special centres to accommodate the victims, especially children, so that their parents, most of them daily wage workers, could go out for job. The authorities should take adequate steps to help the victims' kin, the majority of them in debt due to mounting medical expenses.
Whether the Centre should involve in helping the affected, he said “the Centre can do so as it is doing in the case of the Bhopal gas tragedy.”
The NHRC would submit its recommendations to the Union Health and Agriculture ministries and draw special attention of the Prime Minister on the grave health situation prevailing here. Considering the gravity of the situation, the NHRC might send all its members to assess the situation.
On a nationwide ban on hazardous pesticides like Endosulfan, he said the issue did not come under the purview of the NHRC as it was not a competent body to assess health hazards due to use of a pesticide and such decision must come from the government.
He said it was for the government to decide on punitive action against the PCK, which is being held responsible for the aerial spraying of Endosulfan. “NHRC can only make its recommendations on a given issue”, he argued.
Kasaragod MP P Karunakaran; Manjeshwaram MLA C.H. Kunhambu; district panchayat president P.P. Shyamala Devi; Collector Anand Singh; Deputy Director of Health Services Uma Maheswari; and District Medical Officer Jose D'Cruz were among those who attended the programme.
The NHRC Chairman later visited some houses of the Endosulfan victims at Belloor and Bovikanam panchayats in the district and heard grievances of the families. He also visited a medical camp at Perla.
