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Friday, May 20, 2011

ENDOSULFAN- THE MYTHS AND TRUTHS



THE ENDOSULFAN CONTROVERSY


A lot of hype was there in the media about banning Endosulfan. A seed of suspicion got planted in my mind and started to sprout when more and more attention is given towards a single pesticide. The media which is creating such a great scene, I thought either were not aware of the ground realities or lobbied by some influential forces. My suspicion proved to be right when I went through internet and other media news. A deliberate plan is done to ban Endosulfan with vested interest by MNC pesticide companies.






PESTICIDE USE SCENARIO IN INDIA

When I was working in a fertilizer concern, field visits to remote villages and the dealer shops is a routine, as part of my job. During such visits I will be surprised by the range of pesticides and fungicides in the market, packed in colorful tins and bottles from 100 ml to even 10 litre packs. There were also combination products combining two or more chemical pesticides ( like Paracetamol being combined with Nimusulide/Caffiene) etc for therapeutic use). And every year new chemical pesticides (mostly a variant of the already existing one) and new combination pesticides will flood the market. The speed with which they come into market and the marketing strategy employed by MNCs used to astonish me. Whether the field trials of such pesticides were done with at most care, whether they are environmentally safe, human friendly and even their so called efficacy on pests is tested is a million dollar question. Scientists in agricultural universities have very little knowledge about the pesticides which is actually used in field, by the Indian Farmers as the syllabus is outdated and they get satisfied with the theoretical knowledge they have. Many of the research done also is mostly on the off-beaten track. Toxicology studies also hence were limited to few pesticides.
 There were many companies, reputed Indian Companies, Multinational companies like Syngenta, Bayer etc and small manufacturers who were manufacturing and marketing pesticides in India. If you take the Pesticide Monocrotophos, it alone is manufactured by more than 300 companies in different brand names the popular among them being Nuvacron and Monocil. The cost and quality differs with companies, MNC usually charging higher for their product while the product by a local manufacturer costs cheap. The same is the case with Endosulfan. These two Monocrotophos and Endosulfan ( brand names –Endocel, Thiosulfan etc) is the most commonly used pesticides and will be there even in the rack of  a very small dealer shop in a very remote village. While Monocrotophos belong to Organophosporus group of pesticides and is Systemic in nature (will be absorbed into the system of plants and insects) and Endosulfan is a Organochlorine Pesticide which is a Contact Pesticide (cause death of the insect which comes in contact with it). Endosulfan is widely used for spraying in vegetable crops like Brinjal, Chillies, Bhendi tomato, etc and also to control pests in horticultural tree crops especially Mango and Cashew. In Tamilnadu, it is widely used to control Tea Mosquito bug menace in Mango and Cashew, apart from its widespread usuage to vegetables (and this is the scenario with respect to other states in India). Typically it is sprayed once or twice to crops especially when mango and cashew starts blooming. Both Mango and Cashew plants belong to family Anacardaecia. Endosulfan is very effective in controlling the pest and increase yield by preventing flower and bud drop  in Mango and Cashew. The vegetables which are consumed daily by Indian people gets alteast a spray of Endosulfan. If the pest damage is severe, the farmers go for still toxic pesticide and a for a mixture of pesticides and fungicides.

My suspicion was based only on this ground. Endosulfan is practically used by every farmer. Also there are many chemicals which are very toxic than Endosulfan. Why a single pesticide alone has become a target? If usage of pesticide and its toxicity is such a big concern, why there is no talk about other pesticides which are more toxic than Endosulfan and which have more bio-durable and bio-accumulating properties than 
endosulfan?


THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION AND BAN ON ENDOSULFAN

In the Stockholm Convention held in Geneva, recently  on 29th April,2011, Endosulfan is defined as Persistent organic Pollutant: it is persistant in the environment, bioaccumulative, demonstrates long range environmental transport and causes adverse health to human and environment. Thus Endosulfan is listed as a POP in the convention, as Long-range Transboundary Air pollutant (LRTAP) and is recognized as a Persistent Toxic substance by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)    
Endosulfan is also called as Yesterday’s pesticide. First registered for use in 1954, endosulfan is a broad spectrum organochlorine insecticide. Following international recognition of their long term negative impacts on the global environment, organochlorines, including DDT, chlordane and HCH, have been largely eliminated from use in global agriculture. Endosulfan remains the major exception and is still widely applied to crops – particularly in the developing world.
Reports and studies of European union says that Endosulfan is found extensively in global water resources and as a contaminant in human breast milk ( samples from women in Egypt, Madagascar, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakisthan and in Umbilical cord blood samples.  
According to the US EPA, “Monitoring data and incident reports confirm that endosulfan is moving through aquatic and terrestrial food chains and that its use has resulted in adverse effects on the environment adjacent to and distant from its registered use sites”.
The European union which supports endosulfan ban states that acute endosulfan poisoning can cause convulsions, psychiatric disturbances, epilepsy, paralysis, brain oedema, impaired memory and death. Long term exposure is linked to immunosuppression, neurological disorders, congenital birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, mental retardation, impaired learning and memory loss.
Based on above grounds and Stating various other reasons, the Conference  of Parties in the Stockholm Convention (173 countires) approved the recommendation for elimination of use and production of Endosulfan and its isomers worldwide, subject to certain exemptions. However this decision will not be binding to India unless specifically approved by our Country  
Exemptions will be available for application of endosulfan against 44 pests in 22 crops — cotton, jute, coffee, tea, tobacco, cowpeas, beans, tomato, okra, eggplant, onion, potato, chillies, apple, mango, gram, arhar, maize, paddy/rice, wheat, groundnuts and mustard. The pests include aphids in most of the exempted crops, bollworms, jassids, whiteflies, thrips and leafroller in cotton, Bihar hairy caterpillar and yellow mites in jute and berry borer and stem borer in coffee. For tea, application of endosulfan is allowed for a host of pests including caterpillars and tea mosquitoes. Endosulfan will be allowed to be used against hopper and fruit fillies in mango and several pests in tomato. In rice, use will be permitted against white jassids, stem borer, gall midge and rice hispa and in wheat against termites and pink borer, besides aphids.
In the Convention Developing Countries were asked to look for alternatives for Endosulfan and financial assistance in this regard is assured to them. This exemption will be available for five years and extendable to another five years.


ENDOSULFAN CONTROVERSY IN KERALA

This shows that the move to ban Endosulfan did not originate in India. However the issue was brought to highlight and caught the eyes of media by an article published by the Environmental Magazine Down to Earth (28.02.2011 issue) due to the efforts of the NGO called Center for Science and Environment.  It reported that the aerial spraying of Endosulfan  in the Cashew plantations owned by Planatation Corporation of Kerala (PCK) in the Kasorgode District of Kerala (spread over 3550 ha in three different plantations) has resulted in severe health hazards to people living in villages near the Plantations . The health hazards ranged from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation, psychic problems, alterations in reproductive organs, disability due to disfigurement of arms and limbs, cancer, hormone problems and infertility problems. The CSE also reported that its research findings showed high level of Endosulfan in natural resources and in bodies of affected human beings.     
The CSE investigators reported a level of Endosulfan varying between 109 and 196 ppm in the blood of all subjects with varying degree of illnesses. This level is very much higher than the Endosulfan level found in fatal Endosylfan Poisioning cases. Also the sophisticated Gas chromotorgraphy method used by CSE can give only the quantitative estimation and cannot identify an unknown substance which has to be confirmed by standard tests. Hence the levels found in CSE studies are whether that of Endosulfan remains as a fact to be proved.
A alternative study performed by Fredrick Institute of Plant Protection and Toxicology appointed by the government shows opposite results. The study reported Endosulfan residues in the range of 0.001 to 0.012 ppm in Soil samples and 0,04 to 2.863 ppm in Cashew leaves. This FIPPAT study also did not perform confirmatory test for the compound.
The National Human Rights commission intervened in this issue as it became a big problem and asked many institutes including the Indian Council of Medical Research, which assigned the task to its subsidiary wing National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH)
The NIOH study (conducted through samples drawn during the period Sept to Oct,2007) revealed that there was 0.0280 to 0.0677 ppb levels of total endosulfan ( alpha,beta isomers and endosulfan sulphate put together) which was much lesser than the maximum permissible level (74 ppb) stipulated by US Environmental Protection agency (EPA). In soil samples the total endosulfan level was 0.988 ppb higher than the reference sample. In drinking water the level was 0.0004 to 0.03 in different samples from Padre village. Thse levels too were not higher than maximum permissible level.
 However the report indicated high levels of Endosulfan in the bodies of affected victims.
The study by NIOH also showed that the serum Endosulfan levels in the  blood samples from study area was much higher than the  reference areas and statistically proven to be highly significant. The reason for this can be attributed to bioaccumulation due to continuous exposure says the report.




NIOH study also revealed that Neuro behavioral problems, Congenital problems, learning disability problem and IQ problem in children, aggressive nature of children and other health problems do exists at higher level in the villages under study compared to standard.
.
Based on this study NIOH has arrived at some conclusion and recommendations which were given below


Conclusions

  1. There is significantly higher prevalence of neurobehavioural disorders, congenital malformations in female subjects and abnormalities related to male reproductive system in the study group (Padre village, Enmakaje Panchayat) as compared to the referencegroup (Miyapavadu village of Meenja Panchayat).
  2. Regarding the aetiological factors, responsible for these health problems, various factors were compared and it was found that the two groups differed mainly with respect to aerial spray of endosulfan. Therefore the most probable cause fond the health problems in the study area could be relatively high and continued exposures to endosulfan through various environmental media such as food, water, soil and air.
  3. The physiography of Padre village has been a major factor responsible for continued exposure of the population.
  4. There is a close similarity between the spectrum of health effects observed in the study population and those described in animal experiments. This supports the hypothesis of endosulfan as a causative factor fond the endpoints observed in the study. It need to be stressed that the animal experiments were carried out with much higher dosages and the exposure was mostly acute or subacute. Animal toxicity studies are carried out to identify the target organs of toxicity and possible spectrum of effects. The effects of any chemical are determined by the dose, duration and the time of exposure. It has been demonstrated that much lower doses of toxicants may result in adverse health effects manifesting as functional or organic disorders in later life if the exposure takes place during the early developmental phase.
  5. The cashew plantations of PCK Ltd. In Kasaragod District are all located in the undulating hilly areas .The plantations are spread in isolated patches and are intertwined with habitations. The topography of the area precludes the possibility of aerial spraying observing all the protocols.
  6. There are a large number of wells inside and just outside the plantations area. Several streams originate there. The water from the plantations (situated on the hills) can run off into the valleys inhabited by local people. The rivulets Panathur and Karicheri, which are fed by streams originating from or passing through the area, are tributaries of Chandragiri river, which supplies drinking water to Kasaragod town and several Panchayaths. The surangams, from which the local people draw water, are cut deep into the hills forming the plantations. They are prone to contamination by chemicals applied in the estates. Therefore, the hydrology and morphology of the area are unsuited for aerial spraying.
  7. The human settlement pattern of the area also makes the plantation area unsuitable for aerial spraying. The adjoining areas are thickly populated. There are large numbers of houses inside the plantations. There are pockets of human settlement surrounded on 3 sides by the plantations. There are large number of houses and wells inside and just outside the plantations. The local people allow their cattle to freely graze in the plantation area. There are several schools inside and just outside the plantation area.Even the Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulators Association has agreed to the view that the area is not ideal for aerial spraying of pesticides.
  8. The PCK has not been following the rules prescribed for aerial spraying. This has been reported by the District Collector, all the functionaries of the Panchayaths who deposed before the Committee, the experts and the great majority of generalpublic. There was no effective supervision of spraying and no monitoring of theprecautionary measures and the after-effects.
  9. The same pesticide endosulfan was used continuously from 1981 onwards; in spite of the recommendations of Research organizations rotate the chemicals. The reason given by the PCK is that endosulfan is the most economic pesticide available in the market. Even the possibility of the bugs acquiring immunity to endosulfan due to long exposure has not been considered by the PCK.
  10.  As in the cases of most other pesticides, endosulfan can cause acute toxicity in animals and human beings due to over exposure. That is why strict protocol is prescribed for its use. Though chronic toxicity due to long term exposure has not been convincingly established, it cannot be ruled out.
  11.  There are reports of health problems in the three Panchayath adjacent to the plantations. There is no direct evidence to attribute these health problems directly to endosulfan pollution, but there is no evidence to completely deny it. Other usual causes like pollution from automobiles and industries are absent here. The only activity that is not normal is the aerial spraying of endosulfan. The pesticide is applied without observing the safety rules. The same chemical is used for 2 decades. Hence at this point of time, there is no evidence to implicate or exonerate endosulfan as the causative factor of the health problems. But, the proof of absence cannot be taken as the absence of proof. In all environmental pollution problems, the onus of responsibility to prove or disprove the causeeffect relationship should be that of the polluter and not of the general public who are the victims of pollution. Since cashew is an important export item earning revenue to the State and a large number of workers are involved in it, publicity to the pollution from endosulfan spray can prove detrimental to the industry.

Recommendations

1.     Ban aerial spraying of pesticides in all the cashew plantations of PCK Ltd. In Kasaragod District.

2.      Use of endosulfan in the PCK plantations of Kasaragod District should be frozen for 5 years.

3.     In the cashew plantations in the Peria Division (which includes Enmakaje Panchayath), a total pesticide holiday should be observed for 5 years. This plantations should be left to the nature during these 5 years. Detailed studie on tea-mosquito bug menace and its relation to the crop productivity should be made during this period.

4. In the other plantations of PCK in Kasaragod district, need based ground spraying, (manual or power-operated) of pesticides other than endosulfan may be resorted to, in consultation with research organizations.

5. The pesticide management and plant protection of PCK should be scientifically organized.

6. Research efforts to evolve integrated pest management (IPM) should be augmented.

7. Breeding programme to develop cashew strains resistant to tea-mosquito bug should be undertaken.

8. Since the cause of the human health problem could not be deduce conclusively, a detailed investigation involving scientists from all relate fields should be conducted to identify the risk factors for the high morbidity the Padre village and other affected areas. A detailed health survey should be conducted in the Padre village and other areas from which cases of abno health problems are reported. The health survey should cover the plantation workers also.

9. Since most of the people who complain about health problems are from poorer sections of the community, the Government should make arrangemen to provide special medical care to these persons.

10. The Government should take all steps to implement these recommendatio and dispel the fears regarding pesticide application.

11. The right to information of the use of pesticides should be respected. The Gram Panchayaths should be given all details, when requested. The apprehensions of the local people regarding the alleged pesticide problem should be cleared by awareness programmes conducted through PCK, Agricultural Department and Research Institutions.

12 In every division of the PCK, a committee consisting of the following members should be constituted for monitoring the proper application of pesticide.
1. President/presidents of the concerned Gram Panchayath/Panchayaths
2. Agricultural Assistant
3. A representative of the Health Department
4. The Regional Officer of PCK
5. A representative of the workers of the concerned division of the PCK.


MY PERSONAL INFERENCE 


All the findings point to one basic fact. The aerial spraying of endosuplhan without taking precautionary measures is the root cause of the problem and not the chemical endosulfan as such. Even so the report accepts that the direct relation between the existing health problems and Endosulfan is not established and further research is needed in this aspect.


VIEWS BY PERSONS/INSTITUTES AGAINST ENDOSULFAN BAN


The study by CSE has exaggerated the results since there is much differance between CSE study results and study by FIPPAT and NIOH. Even NIOH study results is disputed on following grounds
  • Limit of quantification is not determined.
  • Values fall much below even the detection limit.
  • Linearity and range there of i.e., calibration curve is not established.
  • No data related to recovery of analyte.
  • No direct confirmation of results of analysis.
  • Replicate sample determination and precision not given.
  • Very high standard deviation implies that data is highly skewed and most of the values fall below detection limit
 
The Pesticide Manufactures and Formulators association of India has come up strongly against these reports stating that this is the ploy of Europeon union Indian manufacturers who hold 70 % market share( 12 million liters to a value of Rs4500 crores) of the total Endosulfan market in the world, which incidentally the third highest pesticide used all over the world.  India also has rejected listing of Endosulfan as a POP due to lapse in proceedings, gaps in scientific data and lack of transparency which have been observed, reported and protested by India and other member countries. European Union, where Endosulfan was invented, manufactured and used for over 55 years has proposed the listing of Endosulfan as a POP to serve European trade interest. If generics are banned through regulatory mechanisms it becomes easier for patented molecules to expand their market share.

The  myths and facts about Endosulfan


Myth.1: Endosulfan is a highly hazardous pesticide
Truth: Endosulfan is listed under class II ( Moderatly hazardous pesticide) by the World Health Organization and their bottle comes with yellow label. There are other highly hazardous pesticides that comes with red label to the Indian market and they are in continuous use in the country. No word is raised against them.


Myth.2 Endosulfan is a typical Organo chlorine Pesticide
Truth: It is not a typical organo chlorine pesticide unlike DDT and BHC. Even the gamma isomer of BHC is available in the market. Endosulfan is the Sulfurous ester of a Chlorinated Cyclic diol


Myth.3 Exposure to Endosulfan caused birth defects
Truth: Various reports on its genotoxic activity, mutagenecity and Clastogenecity has so far not shown any conclusive evidence of it.


Myth.4 Endosulfan Bioaccumulates in human bodies.
Truth: Studies have shown that endosulfan had relatively lesser affinity towards lipids. Their bioaccumulation and biomagnifications is much lesser than other Organo chlorine pesticides and Class I pesticides (THE EFSA Journal 2005, 23,1-31


Myth.5 Endosulfan causes Cancer
Truth: Endosulfan is not found to be carcinogenic through various research studies (IPCS,1998 a).


Myth.6 Endosulfan persists for long in environment
Truth: Studies have shown that degradation of endosulfan is rather faster in tropical and subtropical climates. Dissipation of endofulphan occurs in soil to a extent of 92 to 97 % within four weeks of application ( Pesticide science 1997, 5021-27)


Besides this endosulfan is found to be good to honey bees causing them very less or low damage.

So where lies the truth? Do not believe what you see and hear. Even researches today are done with results in mind.

If endosufan is usage is so widespread in India, why the problem occurs only in India. When you look at the raw data of fertilizer sales, the union territory of Pondicherry will show high consumption of fertilizers/acre of land. But the truth is, 70 % of this is used in agricultural lands of Tamilnadu, adjacent to Pondicherry. The tax difference between the states makes fertilizer purchase from Pondicherry cheaper.Statistics may fool you. Lies, dammed lies and statistics  goes a proverb.  

On 25th April, 2011, India floated a draft paper demanding that the recommendation of a POP review committee, to declare endosulfan a pollutant, be set aside. It said the move to ban the pesticide was not based on facts and scientific criteria. It also pointed out that chemicals suggested as alternatives to endosulfan showed POP characteristics, even exceeding that of the controversial pesticide. It argued that endosulfan's risk profile has not been prepared, while instead of arriving at a consensus, as is the norm, the review committee was attempting to take decision by majority votes. Japan,China, South Korea and Omen also stood by India with respect to their view on Endosulfan ban (BUSINESS LINE, APRIL 26). But China withdrew the support before attending the conference and went in support of the European union 

But by 29th April, 2011, suddenly India agrees to compromise on global ban on endofulfan, the support however is with respect to working our suitable exemptions and alternatives. In order to gain Indias agreement exemtion was agreed for 14 more crops (totally 22 crops) for a period of five years, during which financial assistance is also assured during the Stockholm conference. The pressure is created on the Indian government both from outside and inside, so that the European Union can achieve what they intend to achieve. India would concede, otherwise it would be the only country opposing the ban according to Savvy Soumya Misra, Asst. Coordninator of food safety and toxins, Center for Science and Environment, New Delhi, which has lauched the campaign against Endosulfan in India. India was pressurized into this agreement.



What will happen if Endosulfan is banned? The farmers are not going to stop pesticide spraying to vegetables, mango or cashew. Endosulfan will be replaced conveniently and easily by pesticides manufactured by MNC companies not only in India, but also worldwide. The present alternatives to endosulfan where priced 5 to 10 times higher than endosulfan. While Endosulfan costs just around Rs300/litre, the alternatives costs Rs2000 to Rs13000/litre. The market share will be captured easily by them without much effort to convince farmers.This will go as a cycle. Some other pesticide will become a target in a span of few years, again such a hype will be created and the hidden agenda of MNC companies will be achieved.   

Monday, May 2, 2011

Madurai District Collector Honarable Mr. Sagayam, IAS

I happened to hear a wonderful lecture delivered by the present Madurai District Collector Mr. Sagayam, who is known for his straight forwardness, sincerity and fearlessness on 1st May,2011 in Madurai Readers Club meet. The result for his straight forwardness and honesty is that, he got transferred 15 times to different posts, all due to political moves. The present Madurai Collector is a man who really serves the country very silentlly. A man who is very clever and who knows how to use his powers for the well being of the society.
He started his speech with the uniques of each and every country - America known for its economic development, Russia for the Socialistic philosophy, China  a land of ancient knowledge and wisdom, Japan for its hard working and good people and India, for its democratic nature  despite its varying cultures and languages.
He said each and every individual should be a responsible citizen. He said he just exercised his duty as a collector to ensure fair elections as per the guidelines of the election commision. He thanked the people of Madurai and the Readers Club members for behaving like a responsible citizen by exercising their right to vote.
The collector said that whenever he visits a village he made it a habit to visit the government schools to see the facilities and quality of education provided there. He used to interact with poor children to test their knowledge level. He said that " the government schools are the last hope for the poor children to come up in their life". While during such visits teachers in that schools used to say that "that  student of this school has become a Doctor, that student of this school has become an well known scientist, engineer etc. Sagayam used to ask " All right, how many of them you educated turned out to be good and honest human beings?  The nation does not want teachers, scientists, engineers. It badly need good teachers, good scientists and good engineers and the good here means their character.    

The Collector also narrated a incident in a school during which he questioned a 4th standard boy. The collector said that even the student of 7th or 8th std student in government school will fail to answer correctly for a simple question posed in english " What's your father?" Most of them will tell their fathers name as reply. But to his surprise the fourth standard boy answered " My father is a Potter". The collector said he was taken aback by the answer. Definitely this would have not been taught at school and the boy would have managed to learn by himself from elseware. When the collector posed him a question " What you want to become in future?" the boy answered " I am a doctor" The collector again said him you are just a fourth standard boy and how can you say that you are a Doctor now itself?   The boy thought for a moment and replied " I am a future Doctor' The collector was all in praise for the student from a remote school who was intelligent and wished him good luck in future.

The Collector Mr.Sagayam also added that the language tamil grows and retains its value only because of students who learn in tamil in government schools and disseminate that learnings to others in their action and deed while they grow up and not because of others

During independence the literacy rate was just around 30 %. But now the literacy rate has gone above 80 % in Tamilnadu. But earlier more people were good and honest. But now more were lacking character. What we study does not makes one educated. The degress like B.A, M.A, M.BA, B.E,  M.E, M.sc, B.ed and doctoral degrees are just trainings that a person receives. They are not educated if they lack character. Unfortunately our education fails to build character.
He spoke about Diogenes who went with a lamp searching for something in the streets of Athens here and there. After watching him search for long time few people went and asked him " What are you searching for?" Diogenes replied " I am searching for good people". The collector added if that was the case 2000 years before imagine the plight now"

He stated that he is just an ordinary person who lives in the salary drawn from money people pay as taxes. All government servants are so and they take a oath that they serve the people with absolute integrity. Hence all government servants must exercise his duty with sincerity and honesty. Most of the time the government servants begins their life as a honest person. When they are sub collector they will remain honest. When they become deputy collector their honesty will degrade a bit. and when they become collector, it is likely that he will lose his honesty for safe guarding his personal interests. The political system and the external pressure exercised on a honest person makes him to change his stand. A true honest person is one who does not change his stand despite pressures and personal loses.

He added  Martin Luther Kings quote that "the world is not bad because of bad people who are smaller in number. It is the inaction of good people against such bad people and bad things, that makes the world worse to live". So being honest is not only true to oneself but also being fearless to act against anything that is happening undue around oneself.

He narrated a incident when a disabled person made a request to him through a petition for a wheelchair (tri cycle for disabled). Normally such a request will take a minimum time of three months to be processed. Sagayam decided to help him up front. For this he has to verify only two things.
  1. Whether the person is the native of that particular village which comes under the district of Namakkal
  2. Whether he is really poor.
So he asked his assistant to make a call to the VAO of the concerned village and verify the credentials. As this is the era of cell phone the VAO was reached (he added sarcastically that VAOs can be reached because of this facility even if they are not present in their respective village). He then asked the concerned BDO to prepare a note for issuing the tricycle. Within an hour the tricycle was given to the petitioner. After giving the tricycle to the petitioner he asked the poor man " how you are going to take this tri cycle to your village which is 30 km away in a remote place?" The poor disabled man does not have a specific answer. So the collector came upon an idea. He asked the deputy commissioner to do vehicle checking of the lorries passing by the collector office and if anyone is found without records, he asked him to levy a fine. The collector said that the traffic regulations are so often offended, that the very first lorry they checked was found to be without proper documents. The lorry driver was given with two options - whether to pay Rs2000/ or to drop the poor disabled man along with the wheel chair in his village. The lorry driver preferred the later and the issue was solved. He said what would be more heartening for a collector than helping people like this?                 

On 5th Sept,2010 the collector was on his way to a educational institution owned by a freedom fighter's son to address on the teachers day event. On the way he observed two youth on a motor cycle, which was running out of control. He got suspicious and asked his assistants to check whether they are drunk and without any records. On checking it was found that the youth where in a drunken state. Also they did not carry even a valid driving license. The collector got angry and informed the RTO and asked them to seize the vehicle and register a case. One of the youth came to the collector and started pleading " please sir, please let us go. we will not repeat this mistake again" Saying this he took out a hundred rupee note from the pocket and tried to bribe the collector. The collector said " in this country one thing a person is very clear even in a much intoxicated state is this- You can get things done by giving bribe" What the collector said his true.People are accustomed and ready to give bribe since it has become a practice and as a unwritten rule in the government departments.

He narrated another incident during which a 6th standard boy came with a petition to see him. While interacting with him the boy said that his father and mother were of different castes. Owing to the love over her wife,his father has written the only property a hut house in the name of the boy's mother. His mother developed a relationship with another man, left his father and also forced him to evict the house along with his three children. The collector asked the boy to wait until he finishes up with other petitioners. Then he took the boy along with him to his house for the lunch. While having lunch, the collector enquired about his studies. The boy said he scored second rank in his class. On further enquiry the boy said that he used to run around in the school ground early in the morning, with a aim to become a IPS officer in future. The collector wished him good luck, presented him a dictionary and also said that he will take necessary action in three days. He assigned a deputy commissionar to the task and asked him to resolve the matter in three days. But the matter did not get resolved since the mother migrated to thirupur and also spoke through a lawyer. She did not turn up for disussion. The deputy commisionar was later assigned to Senthamizh maanadu duty at coimbatore and the matter remained pending. Later one day the Collector got shocked to read in a newspaper that a father committed suicide along with three children and presumably the boy was the one who sought help from him. He felt sad that he could not help a poor family even after their plight is brought to his notice.

He also stated, that he borrowing from a friend  to meet the hospital expenses of her girl child Yazhini is a natural phenomena that could occur to any government servant who lives only with the salary given by the government for his services. ( Earlier a speaker praised him for this activity in a situation where he can demand lakhs of rupees as bribe). Peoples integrity will be put to test by such moments and one should not lose it.

He also said the story of clay buddha.One day in Japan, a buddha statue made of clay was transported from a old temple to a newly built temple. While transporting it started to rain heavily. The people got worried that the statue will dissolve and they tried to cover it. However the rain was so intense that it started to dissolve the clay. To their surprise, as the clay dissolved they saw a statue of Golden Buddha emerging. They realized that the ancient emperor who installed the Golden Buddha statue has covered it with clay to keep it safe from the hand of thieves. The collector quoting this story said that each and every one of us has a Golden buddha inside and only that we do not realize it. We should realize our inner strength and use it to fight against the evils like corruption which is plaguing the country        

His way of speech was so inspiring and emotional that many of the people who participated in the meeting had tears accumulating in their eyes.

It is very rare to see a straight forward, honest, sincere, clever and fearless official. 

One of the member in the felicitation speech said that "most of  the bureaucrats will be ready to crawl when they are asked to bend a little: But the collector  has the backbone to stand upright. It true.

These are some of the achievements of Present Madurai  collector Mr.Sagayam 



  • First collector in India to disclose his assets in public.
  • While working as DRO in Kanchipuram district, he sealed and locked the premises of a MNC soft drink company on complaint that one of the cool drink bottle contained impurities and after the lab reports said that the cool drink was unfit to be drunk. When he returned home after some field visits, he came to know from his wife that many politicians and even collector had made a call to him. He just replied that he was ready to face any action, if his action was found to be out of the way.
  • While working in Namakkal district he put a halt to smuggling of kerosene and rice from ration shop by frequent raids. He has taken action against 300 transport vehicles on his own during his period as collector there.
  • He put an end to a pollution problem caused by a unit where mass killing of Goat and sheep took place and their debris polluted the near by water bodies.
  • "Kattidangaluku naduve kaanagam" ( Forest amidst buildings) is the scheme through which he planted more than7 lakhs trees in Namakkal district and also followed up for its maintanence.
  • Uzavar Unavagam  is the new concept he introduced in Namakkal district in which farmers where given a business opportunity of running a food stall serving traditional foods during evening hours in the same place where the Uzhavar Sandhaai is held.
  • Instead of making people meeting him he went to villages along with other officials, stayed there during night and took action for any genuine request to fulfill their needs. Soon the people of Namakkal started praying that the collector should make a visit to their village.
  • He visited various schools especially government schools and inspired both the students and teachers.
  • He passed a circular insisting VAOs that they should stay only in their functional village as per their job guidelines which made VAOs to protest but on the other hand made people to come in full support of him.
  • In Madurai after he was posted to ensure fair election here, he made even the most rude and adamant politician to run for his money by putting a check on all type of malpractices. A false complained was lodged against the collector that he was supporting ADMK, while actually he was performing his duty in a  un biased manner.
  • He raided the shops and godowns which stored Mangoes which where artificially ripened with Calcium Carbide and captured more than 100 tons of such mangoes, forcing the traders to come to a agreement on their won that they will hear after will not artificially ripen the mangoes.

His action will continue. provided if he continues in Madurai. All Madurai residents should pray that he should be in Madurai at least for two more years. That time is sufficient for him to transform madurai. But sure he will remain a night mare to non performing and fraudulent officials and criminal politicians.