Survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, marching in a rally with torches on the eve of the 31st Anniversary of the disaster on Wednesday evening.
By Pervez Bari, MM News,
Bhopal, 2 December 2015: Members of five NGOs, (Non-Government Organisations), jointly fighting for the rights of the survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, marched in a rally with torches on the eve of the 31st Anniversary of the disaster here on Wednesday evening. The rally ended at the statue of the Bhopal Mother opposite the abandoned factory, where members paid homage to those killed by the disaster.
Later the members collectively took oath of continuing with the battle for punishment of the guilty corporations and for additional compensation for the victims.
The organizations said that the Indian government had filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court of India on December 3, 2010, seeking 1.2 billion dollars as additional compensation from the Union Carbide and its present owner The Dow Chemical Company for the disaster in Bhopal. According to them, in the last five years there has been just one hearing on the curative petition and the government has not moved a single application for urgent hearing on the matter.
The organizations charged that the curative petition by the Indian government downplays the damage caused by the disaster and seeks too little compensation. “In 1985 the Indian government asked for 3.3 billion dollars as compensation that would be about 7 billion dollars today. Union Carbide has paid only 470 million Dollars, the least the government should be asking for is 6.5 billion dollars. But the curative petition only asks for 1.2 billion dollars”, points out Ms Rashida Bi of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.
Balkrishna Namdeo, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha said: “The central and state governments are presenting fraudulent data on death and injury caused by the disaster to justify the paltriness of additional compensation. The government says only 5295 persons have died due to the disaster whereas its own medical research organization’s records show that twice this number died in the first 9 years itself.”
Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, pointed out that the figures published by the Madhya Pradesh government show that there were 4,31,495 chronic patients in the hospitals meant for gas affected people in 2010. “Counting in survivors who went to other health care institutions, we could say that well over 90 per cent of the persons exposed in 1984 continue to need hospital visits. However, the curative petitions of both the governments state that 93 per cent of the victims went to the hospital just for a day”, he said.
Nawab was particularly angry at the Modi government’s failure to make use of UNEP, (United Nations Environmental Programme), offer to carry out a comprehensive scientific assessment of the ongoing toxic contamination in and around the abandoned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. “Assessment is the first and the most important step towards clean up in Bhopal but for reasons that he hasn’t cared to explain, the Environment Minister would not accept UNEP’s unprecedented offer”, he said.
The organisations were apprehensive of the amendments proposed by the government in laws, that they said would prepare the ground for more Bhopals around the country. “By proposing self certification by corporations under Environmental and Labour laws, the government will be encouraging them to commit Bhopal like crimes all over the country”, said Satinath Sarangi of Bhopal Group for Information & Action, (BGIA).
According to Ms Rachna Dhingra also of BGIA the main obstruction in securing justice for the Bhopal survivors is the continuing collusion between the Government of India and the two American corporations – Union Carbide and its current owner Dow Chemical Company.
“The unholy nexus between the American corporations and the Indian government is even stronger in these times. Obtaining justice against Bhopal’s killers has become even more difficult with Modijee as the Prime Minister”, said Ms Safreen Khan of Children Against Dow Carbide.
It may be recalled here that on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory had spewed poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas whereby 3000 people had perished virtually instantly and over the years more than 25000 have kissed death and the sad saga is still continuing uninterruptedly. About half a million are suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousand people have been maimed for life.