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Even as the UPA Government is refusing to declare a nationwide ban on pesticide Endosulfan because its killer effects have not become obvious in states other than Kerala and Karnataka, reports from Kerala’s Kasaragod district say that the chemical sprayed there till a decade ago is still causing horrible health disorders, especially among women.
Studies show that incidence of infertility, neo-natal deaths, stillbirths and accidental abortions seen among the people in the 11 pesticide-hit panchayats of Kasaragod is at least three times higher than the normal. A study held as recent as in February found traces of the pesticide in shocking measures in the bloodstream of the people here though Endosulfan was banned locally a decade ago.
About 30 percent of the sexually active women in the Endosulfan-hit villages are found to have fertility problems. The incidence of gynecological problems like unnatural and early menopause, erratic menstrual cycle, early maturing, etc is shockingly high when compared to other areas in Kasaragod district itself.
About 1,000 people have already died due to Endosulfan poisoning in Kasaragod and close to 10,000 people have become victims of diseases and disorders including cancers, infertility, deformity, stunted brain growth, epilepsy, etc. But the Centre is still firm that the pesticide would not be banned unless evidences of health hazards come from other parts of the country also.
“Endosulfan has affected every aspect of health and life in this region,” says a doctor of the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode who has held several studies on the effects of the pesticide. “However, women are perhaps the worst hit. Almost 80 percent of the women here carry some kind of Endosulfan-induced gynecological problems or the other,” he says.
Women of the Chaklia Colony in the Chokamala estate in Kasaragod say that they have several health problems which they cannot openly discuss. “The authorities have not so far found a way to deal with it nor they have been aware of these problems,” said the doctor. “The women are reluctant to seek help as they don’t want to discuss the problems with anyone,” he added.
Sarala (name changed), a young mother of this colony who was not even born when the first helicopters came to spray Endosulfan on the cashew trees from the skies back in 1978, says that most of her friends are victims of menstrual and other disorders. She says no doctor has ever approached them to help them despite the frequently held medical camps.
“Many of my friends say that they get ‘unclean’ only once in long periods, say six months. There are complaints of more than one period in the same month. Menstruation-related pain and discomforts are the normal complaints one hears here. I know many girls who had attained puberty when they were not yet ten. I myself had become mature when I was nine,” Sarala said.
A study carried out by the Department of Community Medicine of the Medical College, Kozhikode for the Health Department in January and February in the region had found that people there still carried traces of Endosulfan in dangerous levels in the blood. It was also found that the incidence of mobility problems in persons above the age of ten was six times the normal.
The study, conducted among 10,000 people in the 11 Endosulfan-hit panchayats and two others, found that the unnatural menopause and accidental abortion were widespread among the women in the affected areas. “The pesticide has affected all organisms. The incidence of health complications found in domestic animals in the region is seven times the normal,” said a doctor.
Studies show that incidence of infertility, neo-natal deaths, stillbirths and accidental abortions seen among the people in the 11 pesticide-hit panchayats of Kasaragod is at least three times higher than the normal. A study held as recent as in February found traces of the pesticide in shocking measures in the bloodstream of the people here though Endosulfan was banned locally a decade ago.
About 30 percent of the sexually active women in the Endosulfan-hit villages are found to have fertility problems. The incidence of gynecological problems like unnatural and early menopause, erratic menstrual cycle, early maturing, etc is shockingly high when compared to other areas in Kasaragod district itself.
About 1,000 people have already died due to Endosulfan poisoning in Kasaragod and close to 10,000 people have become victims of diseases and disorders including cancers, infertility, deformity, stunted brain growth, epilepsy, etc. But the Centre is still firm that the pesticide would not be banned unless evidences of health hazards come from other parts of the country also.
“Endosulfan has affected every aspect of health and life in this region,” says a doctor of the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode who has held several studies on the effects of the pesticide. “However, women are perhaps the worst hit. Almost 80 percent of the women here carry some kind of Endosulfan-induced gynecological problems or the other,” he says.
Women of the Chaklia Colony in the Chokamala estate in Kasaragod say that they have several health problems which they cannot openly discuss. “The authorities have not so far found a way to deal with it nor they have been aware of these problems,” said the doctor. “The women are reluctant to seek help as they don’t want to discuss the problems with anyone,” he added.
Sarala (name changed), a young mother of this colony who was not even born when the first helicopters came to spray Endosulfan on the cashew trees from the skies back in 1978, says that most of her friends are victims of menstrual and other disorders. She says no doctor has ever approached them to help them despite the frequently held medical camps.
“Many of my friends say that they get ‘unclean’ only once in long periods, say six months. There are complaints of more than one period in the same month. Menstruation-related pain and discomforts are the normal complaints one hears here. I know many girls who had attained puberty when they were not yet ten. I myself had become mature when I was nine,” Sarala said.
A study carried out by the Department of Community Medicine of the Medical College, Kozhikode for the Health Department in January and February in the region had found that people there still carried traces of Endosulfan in dangerous levels in the blood. It was also found that the incidence of mobility problems in persons above the age of ten was six times the normal.
The study, conducted among 10,000 people in the 11 Endosulfan-hit panchayats and two others, found that the unnatural menopause and accidental abortion were widespread among the women in the affected areas. “The pesticide has affected all organisms. The incidence of health complications found in domestic animals in the region is seven times the normal,” said a doctor.
