Bhopal Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims condemn govt on 26th Anniversary

Bhopal : The Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims on Tuesday condemned the central government for neglecting Union Carbide?s ?poisons? and continuing to support American corporations.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster, leaders of five organizations fighting for the rights of the people exposed to Union Carbide?s poisons, on Tuesday condemned the central government for its neglect of the poisoned people and continued support to the American corporations.

The fiver organizations are Children Against Dow-Carbide, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha and Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

The organizations said that the decision of the central government to deny additional compensation to more than 90 % of the people officially acknowledged to have been exposed to Union Carbide?s toxic gases is a grave injustice to the survivors who have received a paltry sum of Rs. 25, 000 for life long injuries.

They also condemned the absence of any decision on registration of exposure related death claims after 1997, when such registration was arbitrarily stopped.

The organizations said that the central government has gone back on its word regarding the setting up of the Empowered Commission on Bhopal.

They said that both in the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries chaired by the Prime Minister on June 3, 2008 and that of the Group of Ministers on Bhopal on June 22, 2008 it was decided to set up such a Commission with necessary funds and authority for long term medical care and rehabilitation of the survivors and their children.

However, in its June 2010 meeting the Group of Ministers on Bhopal chose to ignore this decision, said the organisations.

The organizations condemned the central government?s deliberate neglect of extraditing the authorized representatives of Union Carbide Corporation, USA and Union Carbide Eastern, Hong Kong that is now reincarnated as Union Carbide Asia Pacific Inc. and Union Carbide Asia Ltd.

The organizations said that the government has not taken the tiniest step against these corporations who are absconding the ongoing criminal case for last 18 years.

They pointed out that despite the promises made by the Group of Ministers, a fresh request for extradition of prime accused Warren Anderson remains to be sent to the US government.

Commenting on the delay in filing the curative petition for enhancement of compensation, the organizations said that unless the central government presents a strategy for enforcing judicial decisions on Union Carbide, the curative petition in the Supreme Court will only serve to fool the survivors and deny them justice.

Citing the central government?s failure to make Dow Chemical, current owner of Union Carbide, to abide by the jurisdiction of Indian courts the organizations said that there is clearly a ?lack of political will?.

Both Union Carbide and Dow Chemical continue to violate Indian laws and scoff at Indian courts and the government appears to be helpless, said the organizations.

The organizations said that if the central government were really serious about extracting compensation from the American corporations it would have joined the ongoing litigation on environmental damage in the US Federal court.

The central government?s recent decision not to join this litigation, initiated by a group of people exposed to contaminated ground water makes it clear that it is only paying lip service to the ?polluter pays principle?, they said.

The organisations will be observing Bhopal tragedy anniversary till December 3.

On the intervening night of 2/3 December 1984, the inhabitants of the city of Bhopal became victims of the world’s worst industrial disaster. 40 tonnes of methyl iscocyanate (MIC – a highly volatile toxic chemical) stored at the pesticide plant – owned by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), USA – was contaminated with water and other impurities.

As a result, a mixture of deadly gases escaped from the factory killing several thousands of people and inflicting grievous injuries on at least 500,000 others.

Earlier this year, a lower court in Bhopal had awarded mere two years of imprisonment to seven convicted Union Carbide officials for the incident.