This post is taken from a Facebook Note Written by Jobin Martin
Friday 29th April is “Harthal” in Kerala. It can be called a state sponsored Harthal, because the ruling Coalition the Left front has called for this Harthal. I think most of the people in Kerala(except for a few UDF leaders) stand in full support for this strike.
But I wonder, what do these people know? Or have they tried to understand anything about the Endosulfan problem, other than what they have read from the newspapers? So I am trying to explain something, which was not known to me until yesterday.
Isn’t Endosulfan banned in Kerala?
Yes, it is.
Why does the Kerala Govt want Endosulfan to be banned all over India?
Because we love our country and all the people in it, no matter whether he is Keralite or not
Is Endosulfan available in Kerala?
Yes, though it is banned in Kerala, it is freely available in Tamilnadu and other neighbouring states. So people don’t have any trouble using it in Kerala.
Has the state Govt tried to enforce this ban?
I think so, but don’t have any concrete evidence on it.
Why is the Central Govt keen on using Endosulfan?
Because Endosulfan is the cheapest Insectiside available, which is produced by Hindustan Insectisides limited (HIL) and a lot of other private firms.
So from the Q&A section as we move forward we find that Endosulfan has produced serious health effects in Kasargod district in Kerala. In Kasargod district Endosulfan was used via Aerial spraying by Plantation Corporation and has resulted in Mental retardation and several Congenital malformations.
I had the opportunity to work in Kasargod district and during my stay there what I could understand was that, since victims of Endosulfan got so many benefits from the state govt, victims of almost all natural diseases or malformations were enlisted under Endosulfan victims list.So the list kept on growing and keeps on growing even now.
Kerala is one of those states using the minimum amount of endosulfan,and the states which grow agricultural crops and grapes( they dip the full bunch in endosulfan) have not reported any adverse effects. It was the improper usage(aerial spraying) by plantation corporation which resulted in the Endosulfan tragedy.So the fight of V S Achutanandan to ban Endosulfan is not out of sympathy for the poor victims but for petty political gains.
What could happen is Endosulfan is banned?
- Endosulfan is and off patent insectiside which is produced in bulk in India at very cheap rates.
- We don’t have an insecticide to replace Endosulfan in near future.
- Agricultural production is set to drop by more than 25% if Endosulfan is banned.
- Kerala is not an agricultural state and it won’t be much affected by this ban, but where does our food comes from?
- India will have to rely on patented and costly insecticides produced by corporates once endosulfan is banned.
So the net result will be growing poverty, for just petty political gains for the LDF/VS. I don’t think any of the leaders are aware of the dire consequences of their actions. It is time we think, find an alternative and then voice for ban.
Even though I was not pro LDF, I had supported this campaign, but from many experiences I had in my life, I know that what political campaigns are and how newspapers publish news.Most newspapers won’t publish any news which is against public opinion, so the truth remains covered. I never came across a pro endosulfan report in any newspaper in Kerala. So once I had to choose between my inflated ego and the bright future of my country, I decided to rein my ego and stand by the central govt for a wonderful future.
I was with VS till yesterday, I used to wonder why the Central govt is so keen in promoting Endosulfan,but now I understand what can happen, how our country will be in chaos. At Stockholm convention, India will be looking forward for consensus in preventing the ban from happening. I too look forward to see what is going to happen, let us leave the past as it is and try to heal the wounds and look forward to a bright future where no one is left hungry.
I am not very sure about this argument! If it was right why Endosulfan is banned in 63 countries? Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfan Though I agree with the political and media hypocrisy.
Comment by Business Strategy — April 29, 2011 @ 12:54 pm
There is no point in spraying poison over food plants just to increase production. Agriculture is for feeding people, not for making a profit. It is better to go hungry than poisoning ourselves.
Let me quote myself from a buzz post :
ഈ കര്ഷകര് കൃഷി ചെയ്യുന്നതു് മനുഷ്യര്ക്കു തിന്നാന് വേണ്ടിത്തന്നെയല്ലേ? വിഷം കലക്കിത്തരുന്ന ഭക്ഷണം കഴിക്കുന്നതിനേക്കാള് ഭേദം പുഴു തിന്നതിന്റെ ബാക്കി കഴിക്കുന്നതു തന്നെയാണു്.
Comment by Syam Kumar R. — April 29, 2011 @ 1:39 pm
we also agree with you
here are some more points
Endosulphan a time tested synthetic pesticide has been in use for more than five decades world wide. Its indeed interesting to note that because of the only report from a small village in Kerala (Tragic of course), people of Kerala is on strike to initiate the a nation wide ban of this pesticide. And it is even more interesting to note that the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of USA and some of other countries world wide have called upon for banning or withdrawal of this “toxic” pesticide is based on the reports from the Kasaragod dist of Kerala and one lone incident from Philippines .(A shipment of about 10 tonnes of endosulfan was illegally stowed on the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars, a ferry that sank off the waters of Romblon (Sibuyan Island), Philippines during a storm in June 2008. )
Based on the scientific reports by WHO Endosulphan is a potent Estrogen Hormone mimicking compound, But it is unlike other environmental pollutants it is classified as non Teratogenic ie. It is not capable of bringing birth deformalities , Its is non genotoxic,
Endosulfan is not listed as known, probable, or possible cancer causing agent by the EPA, IARC, or other agencies. There are no epidemiological studies linking exposure to endosulfan specifically to cancer in humans, but in vitro assays have shown that endosulfan can promote proliferation of human breast cancer cells.[43] Evidence of cancinogenicity in animals is mixed.[14]
Here are Some question to be answered by the campaigners of Kerala.
• It is sure that during this long span of years (more than 50 years in use) farmers at thousands of villages across the world have been using this chemical in, but what went wrong at the Only village at Kasaragod Dist of Kerala? Why thing only happened in this village? Why did the same did not happen at other villages in Kasaragod Dist were Plantation corporation has sprayed the chemical?
• If Endosulphan at the permitted dose is the culprit why is that similar incidence not reported elsewhere in the world at least in other villages of India?
• Is the lone incident at this place statistically significant enough to put an end for this chemical?
• What is the permitted dose for Endosulphan?
• What is the Blood level of Endosulphan in the people of so called effected area?
• Is there any clear evidence that the situation now at Kasaragod Dist is only due to the presence of Endosulphan at permitted level?
• Endosulphan is a off-patent chemical (manufactured by Govt of India Company) India is the world’s largest producer of this chemical, we do not have to depend on the “West” to grow our agriculture.
• If Banned What is the substitute for this time tested Chemical? who will produce this ? who will own is Patent.
• Is there any hands of multinationals behind this ?
• If Banned What is the substitute for this time tested Chemical? who will produce this ? who will own its Patent.,
• How is that this chemical being detected beyond the permitted level in the blood samples of this affected area of Kasaragod Dist?
• The Government of Gujarat had initiated a study in response to the workers rally in Bhavnagar and representations made by Sishuvihar, an NGO based in Ahmadabad. The committee constituted for the study also included former Dy. Director of NIOH, Ahmadabad. The committee noted that the WHO, FAO, IARC and US EPA have indicated that endosulfan is not carcinogenic, not teratogenic, not mutagenic and not genotoxic. The highlight of this report is the farmer exposure study based on analysis of their blood reports for residues of endosulfan and the absence of any residues. This corroborates the lack of residues in worker exposure studies.[65]
• Who has given the permission to spray this chemical using helicopter at the village of Kasaragod Dist of Kerala ? or an accidental use of this chemical at high dose? (It should be noted that no other state in India not even accross the world has reported similar cases)
• Why Govt of Kerala is not initiating to take any legal action against who mishandled the chemical?
• Almost any chemicals which we come across in our day to day life when not used properly is toxic,
o The so called household cold rubs and pain Balms contain a plant derived compound called Camphor which is toxic when eaten.
o All medicines including Paracetamol are toxic if given a high dose.
o All other pesticides are toxic if they happen to enter our body at higher dose.
o We know exhaust smokes of petrol engine contains cancer causing agents
o WHY ARE we not going for agitation to ban all the above chemicals.
• Photographers, Artists, office staffs, Politicians, Medical Doctors, Nature protection activists, all are in the fray to ban the chemical. While our country have many distinguished Scientists working at various Research Organizations Like ICMR, CSIR, Many Research Institutes like Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Eminent Universities, why are we the public not bothered about to take advice from scientists community.
• Can we really depend on bio pesticides ? then we shall join our hands for a completed ban of all the synthetic ones.
Comment by Ganesh K Prasanth — April 29, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
Sense prevails at last!! For all those nincompoops better check the facts before you jump into any bandwagon and start hollering . If endosulphan is banned guys how many more farmers do you want to suicide? 12000 plus farmers put an end to their lives last year alone you want to add to their misery by banning this???? For those living in cosy comfort with finger tips at the keyboard eyes staring onto a screen its easy to conjure images of pathetic ill fated people struck by endosulphan based on shit fed from the screen they stare into(read twitter, facebook) ,stare to other pages read enlighten yourself.
Comment by Jayakrishnan Unnithan — April 30, 2011 @ 8:48 am
awesome, so at least somebody has sense…. with my experience whenever central takes a decision it was always for good.
Comment by linoy joseph — April 30, 2011 @ 3:16 pm
Well what u pointed out is of course a food for thought and thanks for this social service.Well I do prefer poverty to those incurable health problems.But I support the pragmatic view.There should better guidelines and their strict monitering to minimize the bad effects.One more thing the food processing industry should use new techniques to reduce the effects of endosulfan,directed through laws(forced to believe democratic norms).that is we should bear some rise in price.I was a follower of congress .The gross corrupTion in UPA forced me to believe in pragmatic politics.MOTHERFUCKER powar and helplessly suffocated by lobbyists within Govt poor Jairam Ramesh were working for endosulfan corporates.There is no other democracies in history which is so uncommitted to its people that we forced to beg the support of other countries.Well all the delegates out there were keen on every anti endosulfan activities in kerala and even the request of our CM was read by all.so the harthal was successful.mind one thing Australia banned endosulfan based the photos of endosulfan victims in kerala.only after that the starte studies.
Comment by JOHNS K GEORGE — April 30, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
Well what u pointed out is of course a food for thought and thanks for this social service.Well I do prefer poverty to those incurable health problems.But I support the pragmatic view.There should better guidelines and their strict monitering to minimize the bad effects.One more thing the food processing industry should use new techniques to reduce the effects of endosulfan,directed through laws(forced to believe democratic norms).that is we should bear some rise in price.I was a follower of congress .The gross corrupTion in UPA forced me to believe in pragmatic politics.MOTHERFUCKER powar and helplessly suffocated by lobbyists within Govt poor Jairam Ramesh were working for endosulfan corporates.There is no other democracies in history which is so uncommitted to its people that we forced to beg the support of other countries.Well all the delegates out there were keen on every anti endosulfan activities in kerala and even the request of our CM was read by all.so the harthal was successful.mind one thing Australia banned endosulfan based the photos of endosulfan victims in kerala.only after that the started studies.
Comment by JOHNS K GEORGE — April 30, 2011 @ 11:09 pm
Translation : “Let the farmers poison us for 11 more years, so that they do not need to commit suicide (Don’t ask why there were suicides in the past). If you don’t get the logic here, just go and read pro-endosulfan articles copied from whybanendosulfan.org”
Comment by Syam Kumar R. — May 1, 2011 @ 4:24 pm
Endosulphan a time tested synthetic pesticide has been in use for more than five decades world wide. Its indeed interesting to note that because of the only report from a small village in Kerala (Tragic of course), people of Kerala is on strike to initiate the a nation wide ban of this pesticide. And it is even more interesting to note that the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of USA and some of other countries world wide have called upon for banning or withdrawal of this “toxic” pesticide is based on the reports from the Kasaragod dist of Kerala and one lone incident from Philippines .(A shipment of about 10 tonnes of endosulfan was illegally stowed on the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars, a ferry that sank off the waters of Romblon (Sibuyan Island), Philippines during a storm in June 2008. )
Here are Some question to be answered by the campaigners of Kerala.
• It is sure that during this long span of years (more than 50 years in use) farmers at thousands of villages across the world have been using this chemical in, but what went wrong at the Only village at Kasaragod Dist of Kerala? Why thing only happened in this village? Why did the same did not happen at other villages in Kasaragod Dist were Plantation corporation has sprayed the chemical?
• If Endosulphan at the permitted dose is the culprit why is that similar incidence not reported elsewhere in the world at least in other villages of India?
• Is the lone incident at this place statistically significant enough to put an end for this chemical?
• What is the permitted dose for Endosulphan?
• What is the Blood level of Endosulphan in the people of so called effected area?
• Is there any clear evidence that the situation now at Kasaragod Dist is only due to the presence of Endosulphan at permitted level?
• Endosulphan is a off-patent chemical (manufactured by Govt of India Company) India is the world’s largest producer of this chemical, we do not have to depend on the “West” to grow our agriculture.
• If Banned What is the substitute for this time tested Chemical? who will produce this ? who will own is Patent.
• Is there any hands of multinationals behind this ?
• If Banned What is the substitute for this time tested Chemical? who will produce this ? who will own its Patent., any “Monsanto “?
• How is that this chemical being detected beyond the permitted level in the blood samples of this affected area of Kasaragod Dist?
• The Government of Gujarat had initiated a study in response to the workers rally in Bhavnagar and representations made by Sishuvihar, an NGO based in Ahmadabad. The committee constituted for the study also included former Dy. Director of NIOH, Ahmadabad. The committee noted that the WHO, FAO, IARC and US EPA have indicated that endosulfan is not carcinogenic, not teratogenic, not mutagenic and not genotoxic. The highlight of this report is the farmer exposure study based on analysis of their blood reports for residues of endosulfan and the absence of any residues. This corroborates the lack of residues in worker exposure studies.[65]
• Who has given the permission to spray this chemical using helicopter at the village of Kasaragod Dist of Kerala ? or an accidental use of this chemical at high dose? (It should be noted that no other state in India not even accross the world has reported similar cases)
• Why Govt of Kerala is not initiating to take any legal action against who mishandled the chemical?
• Almost any chemicals which we come across in our day to day life when not used properly is toxic,
o The so called household cold rubs and pain Balms contain a plant derived compound called Camphor which is toxic when eaten.
o All medicines including Paracetamol are toxic if given a high dose.
o All other pesticides are toxic if they happen to enter our body at higher dose.
o We know exhaust smokes of petrol engine contains cancer causing agents
o WHY ARE we not going for agitation to ban all the above chemicals.
How many people of Kerala dies because of consuming liqour (sold by Beeverage corporation of Govt: of Kerala)
Is Liqour good for health?
Why are we not bothered about to ban Liqour in Kerala
• Photographers, Artists, office staffs, Politicians, Medical Doctors, Nature protection activists, all are in the fray to ban the chemical. While our country have many distinguished Scientists working at various Research Organizations Like ICMR, CSIR, Many Research Institutes like Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Eminent Universities, why are we the public not bothered about to take advice from scientists community.
• Can we really depend on bio pesticides ? then we shall join our hands for a completed ban of all the synthetic ones.
Comment by Prasanth — May 1, 2011 @ 4:43 pm
Dear Kenney Jacob,
It is not a sin to be ill informed. But it is a sin to be proud of it.
1. Do you have figures to say X% of victims listed by Government are fake and they are not at all affected by Endosulfan? Please talk to Dr. Muhammed Asheel who is a medical doctor (not a techie) who stayed in Kasargod and listed the cases of endosulfan poisoning.
2. Endosulfan is a POP chemical, and there is no ‘safe’ way to apply it in open environment.
3. There are chemical and non chemical alternatives available for Endosulfan.
4. Kerala wanted a National Ban / Global ban, just because endosulfan is a POP chemical which got a feature of Long Range Transport.
5. It is totally wrong to say that ‘no cases of adverse effect of endosulfan is reported from any other states other than kerala’. It is just because nobody took effort to correlate the health issues of people to pesticides.
6. Yes. you have all rights to be with Sharad Pawar’s stand and believe that he is right.
7. You can also criticize VS for his involvement – but do not forget he is the person who years back made initiative to made this issue public and stayed with the campaign.
8. Let it be V.S’s political interest, but it is matching with the politics of majority of Nations except India! Why India lost its face in UN convention? Just because standing with Sharad Pawar’s position.
9. Who is responsible for public health and environment? Agriculture ministry or ministry of Health or Ministry of Environment? This alone shows that the ministry of agriculture is sold to industry. The visible face of it is including presenting industry reps as Govt. delegate.
10. Stockholm convention took decision on endosulfan not based on kerala story, but scientific studies and case studies from all over the world. kasargod was one among them.
Truth prevails!
Comment by Shibu — May 4, 2011 @ 7:31 pm
Well its never easy to take a step. Fukushima has prompted Germany and Switzerland to opt of the Nuclear energy sector. The costs will be huge and nobody really knows how to do it. Where as other countries, including India want to build at all costs more nukes and this even on earth quick prone belts. Nuclear waste cannot be disposed even today, nuclear power plants will be unsafe for the next 20’000 years and need constant upkeep and there is no such thing as cheap and clean energy at the end.
The same thing with Endosulfan, its bad, its poisonous and its not healthy to consume food fertilized by it. So it has to go!!! No Argument on that! let the Govt subsidize an alternative till its produced cheaper, so that farmers do not have to take the brunt.
Its 2011 and we as World Citizens have to stop making excuses that kill and destroy life and the environment. That time has passed. Excuses are just another way of not wanting to progress nothing less, nothing more.
Think about it
best regards from Switzerland
Comment by Beat Germann — July 11, 2011 @ 3:23 pm
Most of the comments seem to be on the politicians and counter arguments against the ban. Before raising the flag for any side think about your food and our health. Any thing that happens in the farming will reach our body. Farming practices should not be seen isolated from our food issues. So it is better to see the issue “whether theses chemicals are needed for our and our children’s body or not?” Don’t get boggled down with the argument of food scarcity and hunger. None of us are going to change our life style or reduce our consumption to eradicate the poverty or hunger either at globsl level or at local level. They are the worries of the system managers – the govt. and certainly not of yours. Let us try to focus on our self. Do we need these kinds of chemicals in our food stuffs?
Comment by Neha — September 6, 2011 @ 11:06 pm