KASARGOD: The stand of the Central Government is to give top priority to corrective measures for removing the social stigma associated with the endosulfan-sprayed villages of the district, and also to allay the fears of the people over the issue.Significantly, the panel led by Dr Viswa Mohan Katoch, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has taken the view that the scourge of endosulfan was on the decline since its use was stopped 10 years ago. This statement is expected to allay the ingrained fear among the people here.The view of the ICMR team was directly in conformity with the Centre’s stand to shun the ‘social untouchability’ being faced by the villages. The long-drawn propaganda that the people had still endosulfan residues in their blood had bestowed a pariah status to the scores of villages of the district.Unlike the previous Central teams which had studied the issue, the Katoch panel took it as a social problem with a human dimension which needed a corrective approach. According to the ICMR team, the Centre will announce a major rehabilitation package for the victims within two months. The state government had already submitted a comprehensive rehabilitation package of `350 crore to the Centre.However, the panel which began its proceedings on a clean slate has also insisted on studies into other diseases in the area not related to endosulfan. Another important thing which the panel underlined was a genetic study of the victims.The panel has also suggested studies of the diseases suffered by the victims of different age groups. There are several victims aged between 45 and 50 years who were born with various diseases long before the spraying of endosulfan in the area.
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