Kerala   

Endosulfan spraying leaves people in misery

Kasaragod: Low-flying helicopters spraying pesticides along the cashew estates in this northernmost district of the Kerala no doubt provide a treat to the eyes, but this exercise has proved doom for scores of people who are battling for life and many others afflicted with permanent disability.

As many as 150 people have succumbed to mysterious diseases ranging from physical and mental retardation, abnormal growth of organs, epilepsy, cancer, to infertility and psychological disorder. For many, there is little chance of recovery while others face imminent death.

Trial aerial spraying of Endosulfan in the 4,696-hectare State-owned cashew plantation estate here began in 1977-78, Anti-Endosulfan Agitation Committee chairman and retired teacher P. Narayanan says.

Regular spraying started in 1981 and the process continued three times a week with an aim to protecting the yield from pests.

“However, no stipulated safety guidelines and precautions were followed while spraying pesticides, including in some densely-populated localities,” he says. Though the State government had allocated Rs.50 lakh as relief to the affected families and distributed Rs.50,000 each to the families of the 133 victims who died till 2006, people say “it is too little and hardly reaches the victims.” “The government aid seldom reaches the needy forcing them to lead lives in abject misery,” says K.B. Mohammed Kunhi, who heads a non-governmental organisation, Punchiri, engaged in the rehabilitation of the victims. According to official records, nearly 2,000 people staying near the cashew estates have been enlisted as affected with heavy concentration of victims reported in the Enmakaje, Perla, Bovikkanam, Kumbadaje, Muliyar, Pullur-Periye and Badiyadukka areas. However, the figure could be manifold with several people opting to stay away from various medical camps organised for the affected while others move out to safer places as the social stigma attached to the diseases has prevented them from seeking marriage alliances for their children, Mr. Narayanan says.

The trauma undergone by the affected families, most of them finding it hard to meet both ends, goes beyond imagination. And there are no planned efforts to provide relief to meet the mounting medical bills of the victims, he says. — PTI

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