Here is a real opportunity for India to prove in front of the world that we are indeed a developing nation. And it does not need a penny to be wasted on exhibitions. All it needs is a will and an action. Governments here and abroad are watching India’s stand on endosulfan at the sixth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) of Stockholm Convention that began in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. – says The Hindu.
Oh, and you should read this too, from the same news article – “While most of the governments represented at the Stockholm Convention are taking stands in favour of global ban on endosulfan, India was opposing it.”
Aha!
To those who don’t know what this is all about, go here to read about the Endosulfan tragedy in northern Kerala.
For 26 long years, the government-owned Plantation Corporation of Kerala aerially sprayed endosulfan in an area of nearly 4,700 acres in Kasaragod. Endosulfan is a deadly pesticide banned in many parts of the world. The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies Endosulphan as a highly hazardous pesticide. But in Kerala it was sprayed for years in government-owned plantations. Today, villagers who lived close to the plantation are paying the price, despite an indefinite ban on the substance. Many of them got paralyzed or are seriously ill. Swarga and other areas like Padre, Muliyar and Bellur in Kasaragod district of Kerala have become living examples of how the poison in pesticides could be lethal to our health when used excessively and carelessly. The area is dotted with tragedy struck families battling physical deformities, cancers and disorders of the central nervous system. [India Together – The Living Dead]
And also see these pictures:
[Photos courtesy: Endosulphanvictims.org]