(Pervez Bari): Representatives of five NGOs (Non-government organizations) working for the welfare of the survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster at Bhopal on the occasion of 30th anniversary of the gas tragedy have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to look into the woes of the gas victims who are still struggling for justice and trying to come to terms with the maimed life that they are forced to live for many.
The five NGOs have put forth their 11 demands concerning on the civil, criminal and environmental liabilities of the American Multinationals, Union Carbide Corporation and Dow Chemical that are the principal authors of the two ongoing disasters : the gas disaster and the disaster caused by environmental contamination due to reckless dumping of hazardous waste.
The letter says: “In the last 30 years, the Government of India has been dragging its feet over taking effective action against the two US corporations with the understanding that justice in Bhopal would jeopardize the investment climate. Union Carbide and now Dow Chemical have taken full advantage of this hesitation on the part of the Indian government and both continue to break Indian laws and dare Indian courts. As you must be aware, Union Carbide is absconding for last 22 years and Dow Chemical has refused to appear in the Bhopal district court disregarding the court’s summons to appear on November 12, 2014”.
“We write this letter with the hope that your government will make Union Carbide and Dow Chemical obey the directions of Indian courts. We hope that you and your government will be as enthusiastic in making US corporations obey Indian laws, as you are of welcoming them to invest in our country. We write with the hope that you and your government are aware that Bhopal was the original “make in India” in the profoundest sense of the phrase”, the letter said.
The other demands in the letter are related to the medical care and economic and social rehabilitation of the survivors. While In the last three decades provision of funds by successive governments at the centre has been adequate, in the absence of any monitoring, the expenditures have failed to produce any results as is evident in the reports of the Monitoring and Advisory Committees set up by the Supreme Court. In 2008 the federal government agreed to set up an Empowered Commission on Bhopal for long term relief and rehabilitation of survivors but the decision could not be implemented due to the intransigence of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who remains oblivious to the failure of his government in providing even a semblance of a life of dignity to the survivors, the letter stated.
The letter recalled that demands are also deserving of your attention particularly since the former follows from recent agreement reached in New Delhi with Federal Minister Ananth Kumar, who is in charge of all matters concerning the Bhopal disaster.
Meanwhile, it may be recalled here that in Bhopal 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. (pervezbari@eth.net)