Permanent care centre for endosulfan victims still a dream

Political parties have not responded to this demand

A file photo of a meeting of parents of endosulfan victims at the care centre at Koila in Puttur.

Amidst all the trading of charges among political parties, a prominent demand of endosulfan victims in Dakshina Kannada has become lost. Their demand to take care of 200 bedridden victims permanently in a centre has still remained a mirage with none of the parties responding during the campaign. They have also been demanding four more day-care centres in addition to the existing two at Kokkada in Belthangady taluk and Koila in Puttur taluk.

The government spraying endosulfan on cashewnut plantations on 6,387 hectares mainly in Belthangady and Puttur taluks in the 1980s resulted in many newborns and others developing physical deformities.

Victims are down with cerebral palsy, autism, mental retardation and other multiple disabilities.

Now there are 3,762 victims identified by the government in the district.

“Its really sad that we have to ask the parties to discuss our issues,” said Sridhar Gowda, president, Endo Virodhi Horata Samithi, and a victim.

Want inclusion of their issues

Some victims and their parents held a meeting in Uppinangady last month and demanded that their issues should figure in manifesto of parties. But no parties bothered to do so.

Activist and president of Udupi-based Human Rights Protection Council Ravindranath Shanbhag has been fighting for the rights of the victims along with Shree Padre, a farm journalist, and Y.S. Mohan Kumar, a medical practitioner of Kerala.

He said that a petition by him against the spraying of endosulfan for 20 years since 1980 in the region led the Supreme Court to ban it in 2013. This led the Karnataka High Court to direct Karnataka government take a host of relief measures for the victims. As a result, now the government is paying a monthly stipend of ₹3,000 to those with more than 60% disability and ₹1,500 to those having disability ranging between 25% and 60%. Those having below 25% disability are not being given any stipend. Hence 568 victims are not getting the monthly financial assistance. Among the other relief measures being taken included monthly health check-up camps, free bus passes to endosulfan victims and his/her care taker to visit nearby hospital, specialist treatment facility at 10 private hospitals and free ration for thevictims.

“These measures are because of the High Court intervention and not the own intitiative of any government,” said Mr. Gowda. But opening of the two day-care centres in 2011 is the initiative of the government, he said.

Mr. Gowda said that the permanent care centre for the bedridden victims will relieve parents who are concerned about future of their siblings.