State may demand ban on endosulfan-based pesticide

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa today said he would raise the issue of banning endosulfan-based chemicals, considering the health hazards posed by the chemical used as a pesticide. “In the next meeting of chief ministers, I will try to convince the PM of the need to ban endosulfan-based pesticides,” he told the assembly.

He said all 237 persons, suffering from diseases caused by endosulfan in Puttur and Belthangady taluks of Dakshina Kannada district, would get a compensation of Rs 50,000 as a one-time sop. Those rendered disabled would be paid a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 for sustenance, he said, intervening during the reply to a call attention notice given by ex-minister Shobha Karandlaje (BJP), who had recently visited the areas.

A school for the physically disabled in these two taluks would be set up and medical treatment provided, Yeddyurappa said. Several people have been suffering from mental and physical disabilities following the spraying of pesticides in cashew plantations between 1980 and 2000, which has claimed 37 lives, revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy said.

Shobha, who hails from Puttur, had conducted an on the spot study of the situation recently. Shobha, a confidante of Yeddyurappa, had quit the ministry in consonance with the compromise formula evolved by BJP high command to end the two-week long crisis in November triggered by dissidents’ demand for change in leadership.