CLICK TO ENLARGE
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
ON THE HAZARDOUS IMPACT OF ENDOSULPHAN AND THE NEED FOR ITS TOTAL BAN
THE pesticide named Endosulphan has been used in the agricultural sector for several years throughout the country. It has been in use in many other countries also. Its prolonged use has dangerously affected the people, including farmers and agricultural workers. Kasargod district in Kerala is the worst affected region in India. Its adverse impact on the people of the region has led to it being described as “Mini Bhopal.” The pesticide has caused health problems in some other parts of the country also.
Endosulphan was applied on a large scale in the cashew plantations in Kasargod during the period 1976-78. It was sprayed aerially on the cashew trees all over the plantation area, using helicopters. Consequently, it polluted the rivers, streams and drinking water. The after-effects of the application of the pesticide were found out only after a few years. Later, it was found that the poison contained in the pesticide has affected the health of the people living in 11 villages of the Kasargod district. Thousands of farmers and other inhabitants of the locality suffered from the poisonous attack of the pesticide. Several children were born with physical deformities and some have suffered disorders of the central nervous system. Some other persons suffered cancer, epilepsy, impotency and hormone deficiency. Most of the victims have been permanently disabled. About 400 people have died as a result of Endosulphan poisoning.
The earlier Congress government had banned the use of Endosulphan in the year 2001 but they later revoked the ban in 2004. Several committees and commissions were appointed by the government during the last 20 years. The committees have conducted detailed studies in the affected areas. The reports of the committees were presented before the state and central governments. Most of the committees have found that the use of Endosulphan has caused serious health hazards to people of the region. Only the committee appointed by the central government did not find any poisonous impact caused by the pesticide.
Now the LDF government in Kerala has declared a ban on the use of Endosulphan throughout the state. The government has also requested the central government that it should be banned throughout the country. However, instead of taking a decision to ban Endosulphan, the central government has decided to appoint a new committee to make a further study of the problem. It is to be noted that during the past few years 17 committees have conducted studies into the matter. Among them, there are committees appointed by the government or sponsored by NGOs and agricultural and scientific research centres. Now, there is no need of any new committee to be appointed in this regard.
India is one of the world’s largest users of pesticides. The manufacturers including the MNCs consider our country to be a profitable pesticide market for their products. Monsanto is a major producer of pesticides. It has been found that several crops and vegetables contain dangerously high levels of pesticides in our country because farmers are using them extensively. The use of Endosulphan has been banned in about 65 countries in the world, including the USA. Two months ago, an international convention was held at Geneva to discuss about the organic pollution caused by the use of pesticides. Among the 29 countries that participated in the convention, 26 countries argued for totally banning Endosulphan. India unfortunately took the position that it need not be banned since it is not so dangerous to human health. This shows that the central government is protecting the interests of the big agribusinesses and manufacturers of pesticides at the expense of the peasantry and Indian people.
The All India Kisan Council meeting, held at Kolkata from December 28-30, 2010, demands that the government of India declare a total ban on the use of Endosulphan throughout India. We also demand that the proposed Pesticide Management Bill should make provisions to categorise pesticides under hazardous and extremely hazardous categories and strictly regulate their use in India. We resolve to launch widespread protests against the UPA government’s refusal to ban the hazardous pesticides.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
LALGARH, WEST BENGAL: RED DELUGE IN LALGARH
Thousands of people, with energy and determination, gathered in a massive rally in Lalgarh strongly denouncing the Maoist-Trinamool terror and in support of democratic atmosphere in Jangal Mahal area. The rally, held on December 31, 2010 at the call of CPI (M), was first of its kind in the last two years. The spontaneous stream of villagers, in and around of Lalgarh marked the high point of peoples’ resistance against barbarism, perpetrated by Maoist-TMC combine in West Midnapore district.
This is that Lalgarh, which witnessed worst kind of Maoist violence. A total of 71 CPI (M) leaders and activists were killed in this block alone. Hundreds of families were forced to leave villages. Maoists declared Lalgarh as a model for their movement in the whole country. The so-called ‘headquarters’ of Maoist activities in West Bengal began to crumble in last few months with fierce resistance from the masses. The final bugle was sounded today with the massive participation of people.
The rally was held in the school ground of Ramkrishna Vidyapeeth, but the space was too small for such a huge crowd. From the early morning, people began to march towards the rally ground and even before the meeting started, the entire area was virtually submerged in the red deluge. The mood was joyous, tribal drum beats and loud slogans competed.
Dipak Sarkar, CPI (M) district secretary; Tarun Roy, state Kisan Sabha secretary and Susanta Ghosh, state minister addressed the rally among others. They congratulated the people of the district for exemplary courage that they had shown in fighting back the armed gangs.
Speakers squarely accused the Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for actively abetting the Maoists. They appealed for a wider political campaign and mobilization to defend the Left Front government.
The rally of nearly one lakh people was, in a sense, a strong and befitting reply to slanderous defamation of CPI (M) and villagers by Union Home Minister too.
‘Let the criminals realise/the soil of Bengal /is impeccable outpost’, the rally reverberated the lines of this popular Bengali poem.
(INN)
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
Friday, January 7, 2011
INDIAN GOVT SHAMEFULLY SURRENDERS TO US
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on December 30, 2010.
THE decision of the central government to bar Indian companies from using the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) to process payments will directly affect India’s trade with Iran and, in particular, will affect the import of gas and crude oil from Iran which constitutes around 16 to 17 per cent of the country’s crude oil requirements.
The Americans have been pressurising India as Iran’s largest trading partner in the ACU to close down this route as they consider it a barrier in the implementation of the US’s arbitrarily imposed sanctions on all companies doing trade with Iran.
This decision of the government of India is a shameful surrender to US foreign policy agendas and is against the national interest. This is all the more apparent since the sanctions imposed by the United Nations exclude imports in the energy sector and, therefore, it is not at all incumbent on India as a member of the UN to take such a step. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the US spokesman on the issue should praise India’s “significant action.” The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) condemns this decision of the government as being against the national interests. It demands rescinding of the step. It calls on other political parties to also put pressure on the government.
Source: People’s Democracy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)