Bhopal, July 28: Thousands of survivors of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, under the banner of five conglomerate NGOs working for their welfare staged a massive rally on Monday to express their ire over government’s misrepresentation of facts in the curative petition pending in the Supreme Court for the victims of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster.
The victims marched from Bhopal Talkies square and submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Madhya Pradesh addressed to the Prime Minister of India to ensure justice. A similar memorandum was presented to the Chief Minister of the state as well. This action was a show of major strength of Bhopal survivors as they vowed to continue the agitation until Central and State government present correct facts and figures on injuries and deaths to the Supreme Court of India.
The memorandum requested the Prime Minister for his urgent intervention to ensure that facts and figures consistent with the actual damage caused by the disaster is incorporated in the curative petition currently pending before the Supreme Court of India. “We wish to point out that the figures of exposure related deaths and injuries in the curative petition filed by the Central government are wrong and without any basis”, it stated.
The survivors hoped that the Prime Minister will pay attention to this critical matter and ensure that the submission by Government of India in the Supreme Court does not cause further injustice to the Bhopal victims.
The government’s curative petition has mentioned a figure of 5,295 deaths caused by the disaster which happens to be one fourth of the figures of death reported by the Indian Council of Medical Research, (ICMR), in its epidemiological report published in 2004. Likewise, the government’s report presents the ridiculously low figure of 42 persons with injuries of utmost severities whereas as per the ICMR report this number is well above 33,000.
The memorandum said: “We would be happy to point out the numerous and severe lacunae in the curative petition to any official appointed by you. In its current form the curative petition would only serve to misinform the Supreme Court regarding the extent of damage caused by the corporation and it would thus be an obstruction to the delivery of justice to the Bhopal victims”.
The representatives of five conglomerate NGOs which organized march of the gas victims were: Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information & Action and Children Against Dow Carbide.