Pesticide Controversy
A group of villagers in northern Kerala have become the centre of a controversial battle between environmentalists and a major cashew nut plantation.The villagers blame pesticides used by the plantation for causing widespread physical and mental illness in hundreds of children and adults. But pesticide manufacturers say there is no scientific basis to the claims.They are fighting for the right to carry on using the chemicals.
Abinash is 12 but has the speech of a three year old. His big achievement this year was learning to crawl. He was born with cerebral palsy - just one in a whole generation of children in this small village of Padre with acute mental or physical problems.
(BBC 08/03/2002)