The government will provide financial relief for ₹3 lakh each to the bereaved families of the two farmworkers, Sanalkumar and Mathai Easo, who died due to excessive exposure to pesticides in the Upper Kuttanad village of Peringara, near Thiruvalla, a few days ago, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar has said.
The Minister was talking to reporters after visiting the families of the two farmworkers at Kazhuppil Colony, near Thiruvalla, on Thursday.
He said the State would prohibit excessive use of pesticides and use of banned pesticides through appropriate legislation. The use of such pesticides would be made a criminal offence, he said.
Licence in spraying
The Agriculture Department would give training to all farmworkers engaged in pesticide spraying and licence would be issued to them to ensure scientific use of pesticides in farmlands. The Kerala Agricultural University would organise the training programmes. Licence for selling pesticides would be issued only to those who had successfully undergone the training, he said.
