NEWS

The former Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shobha Karandlaje, has launched a fresh struggle in her new role as an activist: she spearheads a campaign for a nationwide ban on endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, used as an aerial spray on cashew plantations. The pesticide linked to unusual diseases and deformities in human beings and animals has been banned in Kerala after the media reported its adverse impact on the people in Kasaragod. She said the aerial spray of endosulfan on cashew plantations affected the population in the district in such a way that in each house, there were people who were either mentally or physically handicapped. It also hit the drinking water in wells, animals and the soil.