Kasargod's endosulfan victims to relaunch protest to include more to relief list

Alleging that the assurance given by the Kerala Government to include more persons with deformities in the list of endosulfan victims of Kasargod in North Kerala was still remaining on papers, the victims and their supporters are planning to launch another round of indefinite protest.

Meanwhile, the Kerala government is considering a proposal for re-verification of the existing list of 6,628 endosulfan victims as a vigilance inquiry found that many ineligible persons got into the list over the years.

The Endosulan Victims' Action Council have announced indefinite proposed from March 25 at Kasargod town demanding that all 1,905 persons found to be having deformities in a special camp held in 2017 should be considered as victims.

The action council leader Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan said that the assurance given by the Kerala Government in January 2019 were more or less remaining on papers only. Even as officials maintain that about 500 odd children below the age of 18 were included in the list of endosulfan victims they were yet to receive any assistance.

Meanwhile, government sources said that already 511 persons below the age of 18 were included in the list and the formalities for disbursing assistance to them were in final stages.

Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan, who is in charge of Kasargod district, said that the government was maintaining a lenient stand on the demand for including more victims to the list. Even people from other districts were included in the list considering biological links with the eleven endosulfan affected districts.

The endosulfan cell of Kasargod district has recommended to the government to conduct a re-verification of the edosulfan victims' list citing the vigilance recommendation. A meeting of the cell to be held on Saturday may discuss the matter.

Government sources said that over the last ten years the government spent Rs. 281 crore for the endosulfan victims as compensation announced by the National Human Rights Commission, pension, loan waiver and medical assistance.