The Hindu Business Line : Endosulfan spraying suspended : Kerala Minister

THE Agriculture Minister, Ms K. R. Gowri Amma, has said that aerial spraying of Endosulfan in the cashew plantations of Kasaragod has been suspended following complaints of adverse effects on public health.

The Minister said this while replying to a calling attention motion in the State Assembly on Monday. The public sector Plantation Corporation of Kerala, which owns the plantations in Kasaragod, has not been using the pesticide for quite some time now, the Minister said.

An expert committee from the State Health Department had gone into the complaints about health hazards from use of Endosulfan.

Medical colleges: The State Government has given a qualified approval to a proposal for setting up medical college hospitals with private participation, according to the Health Minister, Mr P. Sankaran.

The Minister wanted members of the House to differentiate the concept of private participation form wholesale privatisation. The overall control and administration of the new entities would be under the respective Principals and Medical Superintendents even after allowing for private participation, he said.

Earlier, members of the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) staged a walkout after the Speaker rejected its notice for moving an adjournment motion on the alleged corruption and irregularities surrounding the award of no objection certificates for setting up a number of B. Ed colleges in the State.