Signalling a thaw in differences among activists working for the welfare of endosulfan victims, the Endosulfan Peeditha Janakeeya Munnani (EPJM) has decided to join the breakaway Endosulfan Samyukta Samara Samiti in the national highway blockade of October 14 to mount pressure on authorities to resolve the issues faced by the victims.
The activists and mothers of the victims will blockade the national highway at the busy BC Road Junction here at 10.30 a.m. for a while, EPJM general secretary Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan said.
The protest was against the unfulfilled promises made to the protesters at the ‘Kanji veppu samaram’ in front of the Chief Minister’s official residence on Republic Day in 2014.
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The EPJM would mobilise around a thousand people at the protest venue.
The demands raised by the activists include implementation of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommendations for the victims, waver of loans taken for meeting medical expenses of victims, medical camps at regular intervals to identify victims, and distribution of free medicines.
Mr. Kunhikrishnan admitted that the political interests of a few activists fighting for the victims took the steam out of the ongoing agitations.
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The EPJM move to join the protest could help take up the issues of victims on a joint platform in the coming days, Mr. Kunhikrishnan said.