Survivors and victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, struggling for justice for last three decades have taken their fight to India’s national capital New Delhi to be heard and their grievances addressed to bring them solace.
As such five women survivors of the Union Carbide poisonous gas disaster in Bhopal on Monday began indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi along with several hundred of survivors and their children, who have travelled more than 700 kilometers to reach Delhi, are staging a “dharna” (sit-in) in their support. The survivors are demanding additional compensation for all affected people and revision in the Curative Petition filed in the Supreme Court of India of figures of death and lingering injury caused by the disaster 30 years ago.
Reports reaching here said that five Bhopal based organizations, working for the welfare of survivors and victims of the tragedy, that are jointly leading the protest called on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers to correct the errors of the previous government on the issue of compensation for the gas disaster. The organizations which have joined the agitation are Bhopal Group of Information and Action, (BGIA), Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha, Children Against Dow Carbide, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh and the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, (BGPMPSM).
Ms Rashida Bi, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh reportedly said, “In 2010 the Group of Ministers, (GoM), on Bhopal decided to pay additional compensation of Indian rupees 100,000 but left out as many as 93 per cent of the survivors without any scientific or legal basis. We are calling upon this government to correct that and pay additional compensation of Indian rupees 100,000 to all those affected by the disaster.”
“As per the decision of the GoM on Bhopal, the federal government filed a Curative Petition seeking additional compensation from Union Carbide and its current owner Dow Chemical in December 2010. But the figures of death and extent of injury caused to the victims were grossly downplayed.” said Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha.
“The government is seeking only 1.2 billion US dollars (Indian Rs.6,000 crores) as additional compensation in the Curative petition whereas it should be asking for at least 8.1 billion US dollars (Indian Rs.37,000 crores) from the American corporations”, Namdeo pointed out.
Ms Rachna Dhingra of BGIA said: “We decided to take our protest to New Delhi after the betrayal of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In December 2011 Chouhan had said that each of the affected persons deserved compensation of Indian rupees 500,000 yet he has done nothing to ensure that we get what is our legal right. Instead he is helping the American corporations by downplaying the damage caused by the disaster in the Curative petition filed by the state government.”
Said Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, “The government’s apex research agency, the Indian Council of Medical Research, (ICMR), had reported that over 12000 people died due to the disaster till 1993. But when it came to seeking compensation from the American corporations the government said that the number of dead was only 5295. The death figure has risen to around 25,000 and almost over a half a million odd victims are still suffering acutely”.
The organizations said that they had had a purposeful meeting with the federal minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in Bhopal recently. “Mr. Ananth Kumar showed much interest in understanding why and how so many survivors were being discriminated against”, said Satinath Sarangi of BGIA.
According to Safreen Khan founder of the Children Against Dow Carbide “The people of Bhopal who have come for the protest have got only Indian rupees 25,000/- as compensation and many of them have to still visit hospitals for the diseases caused by the disaster.”
It may be recalled here that in Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory had spewed 40 metric tonnes of 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. Over half a million are still suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousands of people have been maimed for life.
Union Carbide had come to a settlement in 1989 by paying meagre $470 million to the Indian government. Critics have maintained that the amount is too low, and must be hiked.
Meanwhile, it may be pointed out here that about two weeks back as the news of the death of Warren Anderson, 92, former chairman of the erstwhile American multinational Union Carbide, which spewed death and destruction in Bhopal, filtered through the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, celebrated it by distributing sweets. The survivors, whose kith and kin have died in thousands over the last three decades and the count is still continuing, also smashed slippers and spitted on his enlarged photo to release their pent up anger and resentment for bringing unending agony to them.