NEW DELHI: Worried about pesticide residues in vegetables? Your diet may consist of many more toxic contaminants that you overlook.

The Plantation Corporation of Kerala, the public sector company promoting cash crops, has decided to seek State Government’s permission to move court against the manufactures of Endosulfan, which includes public sector firms like Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL).

Endosulfan is an off-patent pesticide recently banned in the country for its toxic effects on humans. According to the corporation chairman Varghese George, the manufacturers were actually responsible for the tragedy that had struck several villages in Kasaragod. Mr George was referring to large-scale congenital deformities reported in Kasaragod district.

Developed by the city-based Directorate of Oilseeds Research, BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), a bio-pesticide, will be showcased at the CoP-11 biodiversity conference, it was informed.

BT extract is used to kill pests such as pod borer, castor semi-looper and other insects that affect the rice crop, castor and pigeon pea and other oil seeds. Instead of transgenic crops, which give rise to serious apprehensions on bio-safety, scientists say the BT extract bio-pesticide is a safer alternative.

Demand to consider plea to write off loans

Hundreds of endosulfan victims in the district are awaiting news from the State government which has, in principal, agreed to implement the relief and rehabilitation packages suggested by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Hopes were raised after the visit of the three-member team of Ministers who held discussions with various agencies and organisations that have been fighting for the cause of the victims for years.

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The State government is delaying the implementation of the rehabilitation package for endosulfan victims as directed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), P. Karunakaran, MP, has said.

Talking to mediapersons here on Saturday, Mr. Karunakaran said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had told him in Thiruvananthapuram on August 26 that a three-member Ministerial team would visit the district to sort out the confusion over the revised list of victims. The date of visit had been fixed as September 18. Any delay in the team’s visit would only aggravate the issue as the mothers of endosulfan victims had called off their 130-day agitation on August 27.