A rapid assessment of the effects of Endosulfan on cashew plantations, ecology, biodiversity and the people in Kasaragod, conducted by V.S. Vijayan of Salim Ali Foundation, has surmised that the human sufferings and loss of biodiversity caused by the aerial spraying of Endosulfan by the State-owned Plantation Corporation of Kerala in Kasaragod district would qualify as ‘State-sponsored crime'. The study said the State was duty-bound to provide total support to the...

PREGNANT WOMEN in Kasargod district are fighting the endosulfan tragedy in their own way — by opting for abortion. A sacrifice conducted in silence, even a 10-year campaign against the chemical has not yet convinced the government to ban its use. Without the intervention of the welfare state, they are now released from the fear of death and chronic disease. They have seen enough. They have lost many in a short...

Conference of parties to Stockholm Convention begins in Geneva on April 25 The Kerala government will press the Centre to adopt a stand in favour of a global ban on the production and use of Endosulfan at a conference of parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants beginning in Geneva on April 25. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said here on Monday that he would soon write to the Centre demanding...

Evidence is mounting on the ill-effects of Endosulfan sprayed on cashew plantations in Kasaragod district, even as the Union government continues to be ambivalent on the issue. A survey done by the Health Department has identified nearly 4,000 victims after screening 16,000. The household survey and the screening done in 11 affected panchayats during December and January identified 3,937 victims, besides 336 in nearby panchayats. The numbers are likely to go...

Sikkim now needs to adopt mechanism to sustain assets that it has created under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme. A research team from country's premier rural management institute - the Institute of Rural Management, Anand ( IRMA) - which evaluated MGNREGA's implementation in the North Eastern state has suggested this to the Sikkim government. Sikkim is the only state which has bagged three national awards...