A hunger strike by 81-year-old social activist Daya Bai, in front of the Kerala secretariat, seeking justice for the victims of Endosulfan in Kasaragod entered the eighth day on Monday, October 10. Concerned over her deteriorating health condition, Citizens for Social Democracy has issued a joint statement appealing to the state government to save the life of Daya Bai and ensure justice to Endosulfan victims.
Daya Bai was forcefully shifted to a hospital on October 4 after her health deteriorated. She resumed the indefinite hunger strike after being discharged from the hospital. On October 8, VD Satheesan, the opposition leader visited her. He criticised the government for not holding any talks with the activist even after so many days.
Daya Bai, who started the strike on October 2, alleged that the Endosulfan victims of Kasaragod had been abandoned by the Kerala government. She said that the hunger strike was initiated to ensure better healthcare facilities in the district. Daya Bai has also demanded that an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) be set up in Kasaragod, to address the health issues. She also wants care centres in all grama panchayats, special medical camps for Endosulfan victims and provision of home-based care for bedridden patients.
The Youth Congress district committee in Kasaragod held a protest march to the Revenue Divisional Office in the district in solidarity with the strike. The AIIMS for Kasaragod Collective also held a march and lit candles at Kanhangad Smrithi Mandapam to pledge their support for the cause. Setting up the AIIMS in Kasargod is a long-standing demand of the district, many parts of which have to depend on the neighbouring Mangaluru for health care.
Agitation for Endosulfan victims has a long history in Kerala. In the 1990s, there were indications that certain types of diseases were increasing in certain villages of the district and it could be due to Endosulfan usage by the Plantation Corporation in their cashew plantations. The secretariat witnessed a protest by Endosulfan victims in January 2022. When the union budget did not announce any AIIMS in Kerala, locals blamed the state government stating that if Kasargod district was pushed as one of the places to set up AIIMS, then it would have been approved.
In May this year, the Supreme Court pulled up the state government over the delay in compensation to Endosulfan victims and said it did nothing for them in the last five years. The court had ordered the state to pay Rs 5 lakh to victims in 2017.
Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy informed the SC in June that only 47 victims have been denied compensation and out of them 22 remain unidentified. The Rs 5 lakh compensation was paid to 3667 applicants out of the total 3714.