The lush green Indian state of Kerala, advertised in travel brochures as "God’s Own Country", is at the center of a continuing battle in the country to secure an early ban on the use of the pesticide endosulfan. The Kerala government and activists say the pesticide has caused 4,000 victims in the state, through cancer, crippled limbs and babies born with deformities; 496 related deaths have been officially recorded. No scientist,...

Endosulfan, a powerful 50-year-old insecticide sometimes called DDT’s “cousin,” was officially banned last week at an international pesticides meeting in Geneva. Partial exemptions were created for India, however; the chemical may be used on some crops there for up to 10 years. Many countries outlawed endosulfan long ago because it is dangerous to farmworkers, accumulates in the body, kills beneficial insects and persists in the environment. The United States is an...

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre and all the States on a petition for a nationwide ban on endosulfan, given the pesticide's harmful effect on the people. A Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar issued the notice on the petition filed by the Democratic Youth Federation of India, after hearing senior counsel Krishnan Venugopal. It asked Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam to...

The National Alliance of People's Movement, representing several civil society groups, on Monday sought a “complete ban” on the use and manufacture of the controversial toxic agri-chemical Endosulfan. “The deadly pesticide is banned by 81 countries and by the Kerala and Karnataka governments, yet it doesn't seem to be reason enough for the Centre to ban it all over the country. Since 1976, continued aerial spray of Endosulfan has led close...

Ban request only from Kerala and Karnataka, says Manmohan Singh He will go to Kasaragod during next Kerala visit CPI(M), DYFI members stage protests in Delhi As Kerala observed “Anti-Endosulfan Day” on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly told the State's Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala that the Centre would consolidate opinions from various States before deciding on the requests for a nationwide ban...