The horror unleashed by endosulphan, an insecticide, in Padre village in Kerala’s Kasargod district is playing out in several taluks of Karnataka, too.
The horror unleashed by endosulphan, an insecticide, in Padre village in Kerala’s Kasargod district is playing out in several taluks of Karnataka, too.
The only difference between the two is that in the case of Karnataka, it remains unacknowledged, says the Udupi-based Human Right Forum.
An informal survey by the organisation in three taluks in South Canara region has revealed numerous cases of mental and physical abnormalities, cancer, mental and physical retardation, skin diseases and so on. There is no doubt that these are directly linked to the widespread use of the deadly insecticide in the cashew estates.
A study funded by Indian Council of Medical Research on the effects of endosulphan on reproductive health of men in Kasargod district has revealed that “chromosomal aberration in the endosulphan-exposed population is significantly higher compared to unexposed control populations”.
Shockingly, the ICMR has not publicised these findings, in mainstream media or in medical journals, since 2006 when the study was completed.
An RTI application by the forum revealed that ICMR spent Rs8.68 lakh on the study that covered 313 endosulphan-exposed men in villages of Kasargod, where endosulphan has been used extensively for over 20 years.
Karnataka’s Kokkada village in Belthangady is 60 km from Padre village. The link between the chemical and the suffering in these parts of the state is undeniable, says Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of the forum.
“Time is running out. There are 4,000 pregnant women there according to government statistics. The foetuses have to be examined. We cannot have an entire generation being born with severe disabilities,” says Dr Shanbhag.
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