“Nothing has changed for the survivors irrespective of the political party in power whether it’s in Madhya Pradesh or at the Centre. It’s always been the interest of the erstwhile Union Carbide and now Dow Chemical, and not the interest of the gas tragedy victims, which has dictated the policies of the governments,” said Rachna Dhingra, founder member of Bhopal group of information and action.
On the night of December 2, 1984, chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC) spilt out from Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL’s) pesticide factory turned the city of Bhopal into a colossal gas chamber. It was India’s first major industrial disaster. At least 30 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas killed more than 15,000 people and affected over 600,000 workers. Bhopal gas tragedy is known as world’s worst industrial disaster. Union Carbide India Limited’s plant at Bhopal designed by its majority holding company union carbide corporation was set up as a formulation factory for UCC’s Sevin pesticide. Litigation followed in the coming years, as a result of which a settlement of $470 million was reached at to compensate the 2000 dead(reliable unofficial figures suggest it to be 6000 or more dead within 48 hours of the disaster and by 2003 over 15,000 deaths have been claimed) and over 30,000 injured(figure now stands at 5.5 lakhs).
Thereafter much legal wrangling took place and new enactment and legislation were reached at to make good the loss and avoid similar disasters in future. The victims, who had still not been given their fair share at least to compensate their financial loss, persisted and followed up the matter vigorously , as a result of which the supreme court in 2004 ordered the state government to disburse the compensation money amongst the victims between November 15th 2004 to April 1st 2005. The state government had before it the arduous task of pro rata distribution and decided to approach the entire task in collaboration with the National Law Institute University, Bhopal.
The wait for justice for the survivors of one of the world’s biggest industrial catastrophe–Bhopal gas tragedy—continues on the 36th anniversary of the disaster with subsequent governments having given up on the cause, says the organisations fighting for their rights. Several rights organisations have been, for decades, demanding harsh and exemplary punishment to those responsible for the tragedy, adequate compensation to the victims, a proper rehabilitation plan and adequate medical facilities for survivors and removal of toxic chemicals lying on the plant premises among other things.
A report released in April, 2019, by International Labour Organisation (ILO) dubbed the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy as one among the world’s ‘major industrial accidents’ of the 20th century. The report stated that at least 30 tons of methyl isocyanate gas, released from the Union Carbide pesticide plant, had affected more than 600,000 workers and nearby inhabitants. The main accused in the case, Warren Anderson, who was given a safe passage after his visit to Bhopal by the then Congress governments in the state and at the Centre, died in Florida, United States in September 2014 without facing any trial in Indian courts.
“The gas survivors have been demanding extra compensation for the long term injuries and vulnerabilities caused by the exposure to gas. This was evidenced during the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. According to the health department official record, the Covid-19 death rate is 6.5 times higher among the gas exposed population of the Bhopal district,” said Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha. Minister for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation, Vishwas Sarang said, “The matter of compensation is pending before the apex court. Hence, I can’t comment on it. Our government in the state is making all out efforts to provide best medical facilities to the gas survivors. Bhopal has a dedicated hospital for the gas survivors.”
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