By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: The members of five organizations of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, marched in a rally with torches on the eve of the 29th Anniversary of the disaster. The rally ended at the statue of the Bhopal Mother opposite the abandoned pesticide factory, where members paid homage to those killed by the disaster. Later the members collectively took oath of continuing with the battle for justice and a life of dignity.
Rashida Bi of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh said that the Bhopal survivors’ resolve to continue battling Union Carbide and Dow Chemical continue to inspire victims of corporate crime all over the world. She said that her organization has recently won a 23 year long legal battle for parity at work.
Bhopal gas tragedy survivors taking out torch light rally on the eve of 29th anniversary of the disaster.
Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha said that the struggle of the Bhopal survivors and their supporters has yielded significant results in the last several years. The people of Chakan near Pune have not allowed Dow Chemical to set up its R & D Centre. Dow Chemical’s subsidiary Dow Agro-sciences is currently facing criminal charges for bribery and Dow Chemical’s German subsidiary has had to withdraw from its joint venture with Gujarat Alkalis and Chlorides Limited at Dahej, Gujarat.
The Madhya Pradesh government has been made a respondent in a fresh suit filed in the US Federal Court by a group of 17 Bhopali plaintiffs according to Nawab Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha. He expressed hope that the new government in the state would appear before the US Court and present the factual situation with regard to contamination of local soil and groundwater.
The leaders of the organizations condemned the governments at the centre and the state for their lackadaisical attitude towards providing adequate compensation to the survivors. “It is indeed a matter of great frustration that the curative petition for enhancement of compensation filed in December 2010 remains to be heard by the Supreme Court”, said Ms Safreen Khan, a founder member of the Children against Dow Carbide. “What is worse is that the governments have not cared to correct the figures of injury and death in the petition,” she added.
Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that provision of medical care and rehabilitation to the people exposed to contaminated ground water, developing treatment protocols for treatment of survivors of the gas disaster with chronic illnesses and scientific assessment of the depth and spread of contamination were the three most important tasks that the government must carry out without delay.
It may be recalled here that on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory in Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, 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.
Candlelight vigil
Meanwhile, earlier staff and volunteers of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic and survivors of the Union Carbide disaster paid homage to the people who have died as a result of the poisonous gas leak from the pesticide factory in a candlelight vigil at Iqbal Maidan on the eve of the 29th Anniversary of the disaster. Nitesh Dube, a member of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, appealed for support to the Clinic’s effort to find ways of protection against poisonous chemicals and to provide free medical care to the survivors of the disaster.
It may be pointed out here that Sambhavna Trust Clinic’s unique feature is the integration of three different systems of treatment: modern medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga. The five physicians at the clinic have been able to develop safe, simple, inexpensive and effective treatments for the exposure induced ailments through a judicious mix of the three systems of healing. Funds for running the Sambhavna Clinic come from donations by over 15,000 people from India and UK. International bestselling writer Dominique Lapierre regularly contributes to the gynaecology clinic and the informal school run by Sambhavna.
Members of the Sambhavna Trust are actively involved in medical research on the long terms health impact of Union Carbide’s poisons and their treatment. Studies by Sambhavna have been published in international journals such as Journal of American Medical Association and American Journal of Industrial Medicine. An epidemiological study involving over 120 thousand people is currently in its final stages and the Clinic is about to begin research on detoxification through the Ayurvedic procedure of Panchakarma.