Kerala to ask Centre to permanently ban endosulfan

Kerala government would put pressure on the Centre to announce a permanent ban on the use of endosulfan insecticide in cashew plantations in Kasaragod district, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told the assembly today.

Kerala government would put pressure on the Centre to announce a permanent ban on the use of endosulfan insecticide in cashew plantations in Kasaragod district, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told the assembly today.

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Replying to a submission by C H Kunhambu (CPI-M), he said temporary ban on endosulfan use imposed by the Centre, after protests from local people affected by the health problems caused by the insecticide, was not enough as its spraying had proved fatal.

He said around 400 persons had died due to the ill-effects of the insecticide in the district and their relatives were being given Rs 50,000 each as compensation.

The Chief Minister said 178 families had already been provided with the compensation. The government had also set apart Rs 50 lakh to set up a special cell for taking up treatment of the affected people.

He said Rs 128 lakh had been given from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to develop facilities in hospitals in the area for the treatment of endosulfan-affected people.

In his submission, Kunhambu said people in 11 villages in the district had been affected by endosulfan spraying.