Endosulfan: expert panel yet to conduct study

By Our Staff Reporter

KASARAGOD, JULY 22. Even as the death of two suspected victims of the aerial spraying of Endosulfan pesticide over the cashew plantations at Padre village here the other day has brought to sharp focus what the anti-Endosulfan campaigners in the region call the grave man-made tragedy unfolding in the village, the delay on the part of the State Government to conduct a survey on the reported impact of the use of the pesticide on the people's health and local environment in the village remains baffling.

According to the activists of the Endosulfan Spray Protest Action Committee (ESPAC), Vasantha (18), daughter of Kunhappa Naik, and Lakshmi (60), wife of Koragappa Shetty, who died on July 19, were the latest to fall prey to the environmental tragedy that has already claimed 58 lives over the past decade apart from over 200 persons in the area who are still suffering from various diseases such as cancer, skin diseases, breathing problems and disorders of the central nervous system.

While Lakshmi had been indisposed for the past four years due to chronic hypothermia-like shivering, Vasantha was a disabled and mentally challenged girl by birth. Lakshmi's elder daughter, Kamala, had died a few years ago of renal disorders and typhoid.

According to Mr. Aravinda Yedemele, chairman of the ESPAC, seven persons, including a 13-year-old student, have succumbed to cancer in Padre alone after the Endosulfan controversy erupted about six months ago and two babies, including a four-month-old infant have had attacks of cerebral palsy. ``The people of the village are disillusioned when they realised that neither the administration nor the people's representatives from the region have been taking any serious step to address the serious health hazards being faced by the people of the village,'' he said.

The ESPAC sent representations during the last Assembly election campaign to all the major party candidates in the district drawing their attention to the health problems caused by the aerial spraying of Endosulfan over the cashew plantations of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala (PCK) in the area for about three decades.

What is, however, intriguing, according to anti-Endosulfan activists here, is the delay on the part of the expert committee which was appointed by the Government in February last to look into the Endosulfan-related health issues and to submit a report in three months. The committee, headed by the noted environmental activist, Dr. A. Achuthan, includes Dr. K.P. Aravindakshan, Associate, Kozhikode Medical College, Dr. Abdul Salam, Head, Cashew Research Centre, Kerala Agricultural University, Prof. Samuel Mathew, Associate Professor, KAU, and Mr. L. Sundaresan, Additional Director, Department of Agriculture, who is also convener of the committee.

``Five months have passed since the committee was formed, but we haven't received any official communication on the committee, nor do we know the terms of reference given to the committee,'' said another ESPAC activist.

The PCK has suspended the aerial spraying of Endosulfan over the 5,000 hectares of its cashew plantations in the district following widespread public concern over the reported health disorders in the village and the subsequent decision of the National Research Centre for Cashew (NRCC), Puttur, Karnataka, to withdraw its recommendation to use Endosulfan spray in the wake of the controversy.

Meanwhile, the NRCC Director, Dr. E.V.V. Bhaskar Rao, who recently communicated the decision to withdraw the recommendation for using Endosulfan to all agricultural institutions, has sought objective studies before establishing direct correlation between health problems in the village and aerial spraying of Endosulfan. He has been quoted as asking whether the deaths of Lakshmi and Vasantha were attributed to Endosulfan-related health problems on the basis of any post-mortem reports.

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