Protest against "govt apathy" towards Endosulfan victims

Endosulfan victims and activists of various NGOs in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district today staged a protest in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner here demanding that the government failed to fulfil the promises made to them.
The protesters alleged they were not being provided pension and adequate treatment facilities for the last few months.
Addressing the protesters, Endosulfan Virodhi Horata Samiti (anti-endosulfan committee) president Sridhar Gowda alleged that the Health department had been cheating the endosulfan victims for the last two years, even violating the High Court order on the matter.
The High Court had directed the state government to provide monthly pension, proper medical check-up, medicines, one staff nurse for every rural area and bus passes for around 7,500 endosulfan victims in the state, mostly in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.

The victims were not getting the facilities from December last year. The Health department, which had informed them that pension for three months had been released, was lying to pacify the victims to check protests, he said.
BJP leader Monappa Bhandary said the government's lethargic attitude towards endosulfan victims was deplorable.
Leaders of the Congress, BJP, CPI-M, AAP and other organisations took part in the protest.
According to official sources, the DK district alone had 3,107 endosulfan victims, of which 186 patients are bedridden. A total of 23 endosulfan-affected patients had died last year.