MANGALURU: Endosulfan victims and their caretakers are left with the only choice of committing suicide, says Sreedhar Gowda of Kokkada Endo Virodhi Hoarata Samithi.
He recollected that even the historical relay hunger strike by hundreds of endosulfan victims at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on November 18, 2015 has left the government unmoved. Babu Gowda’s suicide pact is the sixth incident of caretakers and victims of endosulfan poisoning ending their lives.
The Aladka suicide pact has again shifted focus on the miseries of endosulfan victims in the district. Sreedhar Gowda informed that Babu Gowda though financially sound had availed a loan of `3 lakh to meet medical expenses of his 28-year-old mentally challenged son Sadananda Gowda.
For the past six months, none of the doctors from Kokkada Primary Health Centre have paid a visit to Gowda’s house. Kokkada Gram Panchayat member Ravi Naik said Babu Gowda was upset over the fact that the worship of spirits in his house, passed from one generation to another, would end with his death.
Government miles behind
Endosulfan victims have been assured of cashless treatment in 10 private super speciality hospitals (184 availed this facility running a bill of `30 lakh as on October 2016). “But primary health centres are reluctant to refer endosulfan victims to super speciality hospitals. Thus government should ensure direct treatment in empanelled hospitals for endosulfan victims with smart cards,” said Sreedhar Gowda.
Vaishali Hegde, appointed as amicus curiae by High Court in 2014, in her report had recommended 24x7 care centres in affected areas, day care centres, permanent rehabilitation home, a solatium of `3 to 5 lakh to each family and `500 crore corpus for rehabilitation of victims.
The report, however, has been ignored by the government. The suicide pact is an indication that the government is miles behind in rehabilitating victims of endosulfan poisoning with health, medical, educational and providing overall care assured.