Twice every year, between 1981 and 2000, a helicopter would whirr around the hills of the Western Ghats in Kasargod, a district in north Kerala bordering Karnataka, spraying endosulfan over the cashew plantations on the upper reaches. Children would rush out to take a look at the helicopter and the white spray would settle like mist on their heads and on leaves and shimmer in the sunlight. But that’s also...

The Centre has asked Dispur to take urgent steps to bring down Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the state. Sources said the Union health ministry had expressed concern over the key health indicators, IMR and MMR, which continue to worry the government despite the achievements made under the National Rural Health Mission. While the IMR is 58 per 1,000, the MMR in Assam is over 400...

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has described as “unfortunate” the endorsement of the Union Government's decision to start a Bachelor of Rural Health course at the meeting of State Health Ministers in Hyderabad on January 12-13. Calling it a retrograde step, the IMA members said they will strongly oppose the move to produce half-baked doctors for the rural population. Association national president Vinay Aggarwal said: “This group of doctors, according to the...

Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...

Like Kerala’s Kasaragod, neighbouring Dakshina Kannada is bearing the brunt of spraying of endosulfan. While Kasaragod grabbed media spotlight and Kerala banned the pesticide, victims in Karnataka are still struggling for recognition. Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in December announced that his government would consider banning endosulfan. The highly toxic pesticide is banned in over 70 countries. The assurance has come too late and is too little for the hundreds of...