Bhopal: Five organizations of survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy have announced the revival of their 13-year long joint campaign for securing adequate compensation for all the survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal.
At a joint Press conference on Tuesday, the organizations released a copy of the letter they have recently sent to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in this regard.
“We have written to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers urging them to follow through with the submissions made by the Attorney General last year in the Supreme Court regarding inadequate compensation to Bhopal survivors. We have reminded them that the apex court has specifically directed the Government of India to make good the shortfall in compensation.” said Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, a trade union of women survivors.
Most glaring proof
According to Balkrishna Namdev, president of Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha, “The most glaring proof of Bhopal survivors being short changed is that according to the latest data from the Welfare Commissioner’s office, 90 % of the 13,133 Bhopal survivors who were diagnosed with cancers and kidney diseases had been originally assigned “temporary injury” category and paid just Rs. 25, 000 as compensation.”
“Records from Central and Madhya Pradesh state government hospitals show that gas exposed persons died at a rate 2.7 times more due to the COVID 19 pandemic in comparison to non- exposed population in the same district. This increased vulnerability to the pandemic is also significant proof that most Bhopal survivors suffered permanent and not temporary injury”, said Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information and Action who has authored a scientific paper on this subject.
Nawab Khan, president of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, said: “In our letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers we have drawn their attention to the letter written by the then Chief Minister of the state Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the then Prime Minister on December 8, 2011. In this letter Chouhan had sought Rs. 5 lakhs as compensation for every person exposed to the poisonous gas of the Union Carbide in Bhopal. If not the Bhopal survivors, maybe they will listen to Chouhan who is currently their colleague in the Central cabinet.”
Survivors’ legal & constitutional right
“It is indeed a pity that the Bhopal survivors have to fight for 13 long years for getting adequate compensation which is their legal and constitutional right. Union Carbide’s documents clearly state that exposure to Methyl Iso-cyanate causes residual injury despite prompt treatment. For a government to ignore this is being blind to both science and justice. We hope to change this through peaceful action”, said Nousheen Khan of Children Against Dow Carbide.
Meanwhile, 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.
| 
