Saranya, 12, looks like an overgrown infant unable to move without the help of her parents. Same is the case with Athira, 17, who has a swollen head and apparent physical ailments.
Battered and benumbed by the residuary harm caused by the banned pesticide endosulfan, they represent 188 living victims of the aerial spraying of the killer pesticide in the vast stretches of agricultural land in this mango city of Kerala. Among them, 77 are chronically ill. As for the endosulfan victims of Kasaragod, the State government has approved all their demands after a hunger strike in Thiruvananthapuram. But the victims of Muthalamada continue to remain a neglected lot.
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‘‘As poor Dalit and tribal coolie workers, we remain unorganised. Struggling even to get a decent pay for the hard work in farm lands, we are incapable of organising a Kasaragod model struggle. The government continues to utter false promises,’’ M. Chandran, father of Saranya, said.
It was only last week that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had sought a report from the Chief Secretary and the Palakkad District Collector on the continuing plight of endosulfan victims at
‘‘Two years ago, the State government had announced a health and rehabilitation package for the endosulfan victims at Kollencode and Muthalamada panchayats. A full-scale survey was also announced as mental retardation, paralysis, and physical deformity have been reported among the 188 people, who are ‘suspected’ victims of endosulfan spraying,’’ K.G. Kannadas, a Muthalamada-based activist, said.
But nothing has happened so far. At Muthalamada, the pesticide was sprayed on individual trees with nozzles directed skywards. The person spraying gets affected almost instantly and the after-effects are transferred genetically to kids.
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