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February 25, 2007

Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors demand pension, free treatment

ZEE NEWS, FEBRUARY 25, 2007

Bhopal, Feb 25: Claiming that chromosomal aberrations among people exposed to Union Carbide's toxic gases have caused birth defects among their children, survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy today sought monthly pension and free treatment for them.

Over 120 children of gas-affected parents, below the age of 12 years, were identified to be born with defects by the Chingari Trust, an organisation working for gas victims. 14 such children with birth defects were presented at a press conference here.

The number could increase if an in-depth survey is conducted, activists of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila stationary Karamchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal Ki Awaaz, claimed.

Demanding a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 and free medical care from the state government, they claimed that children suffered from defects like cerebral palsy, cleft lip, missing palate and disabilities related to vision, hearing and mental disorders.

ALSO IN THE HINDU

Bhopal gas tragedy survivors demand pension, free treatment

Bhopal, Feb. 25 (PTI): Claiming that chromosomal aberrations among people exposed to Union Carbide's toxic gases have caused birth defects among their children, survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy today sought monthly pension and free treatment for them.

Over 120 children of gas-affected parents, below the age of 12 years, were identified to be born with defects by the Chingari Trust, an organisation working for gas victims. Fourteen such children with birth defects were presented at a press conference here.

The number could increase if an in-depth survey is conducted, activists of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karamchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal Ki Awaaz, claimed.

Demanding monthly pension of Rs 1,000 and free medical care from the state government, they claimed that children suffered from defects like cerebral palsy, cleft lip, missing palate and disabilities related to vision, hearing and mental disorders.

Posted by bhola at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2007

Bhopal gas victims launch "Right to Live" campaign

INDIA ENEWS.COM, BHOPAL, FEBRUARY 23, 2OO7

It's been a year since tall promises of relief and rehabilitation were made to them. But, as 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy survivors pointed out while launching the Right to Live campaign Tuesday, there has been little help from the Madhya Pradesh government.

The 'Jeene Kaa Haq' campaign marks the first anniversary of the survivors' march from Bhopal to Delhi to highlight the plight of those affected by the tragedy.

The disaster occurred on the intervening night of Dec 2-3, 1984, when over 40 tonnes of lethal methyl isocyanate (MIC) spewed out of the now defunct Union Carbide pesticide plant, killing over 3,000 people instantly and maiming thousands of people for life.

More than 15,000 people affected with the exposure of toxic gas have died since then.

'The repeated attempts to meet the chief minister since June 2006 have been futile and several petitions on behalf of people poisoned by Union Carbide have gone unanswered,' said Satinath Sarangi, who belongs to the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA).

'The current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has surpassed all previous governments in terms of incompetence, corruption and apathy shown towards the plight of gas victims.'

The leaders of various organisations of survivors accuse the state government of blocking the implementation of decisions by the Coordination Committee on Bhopal (CCB) to provide long-awaited relief and rehabilitation to victims.

The CCB, comprising officials from the centre and the state and representatives of survivors, was set up last year after 55 of them marched 800 km on foot from Bhopal to New Delhi to meet the prime minister who conceded their demands.

Survivors of the disaster and people affected by water-contamination near the abandoned Union Carbide factory also staged a sit-in at one of Bhopal's busiest roads, the Roshanpura Square, to remind the government of its commitment on the first anniversary of their march.

The Right to Live movement has been launched to push for the resolution of long-pending demands, including healthcare and economic rehabilitation of survivors and their families, the supply of safe drinking water and the removal of hazardous waste from the Union Carbide plant.

Their demands include a monthly pension of Rs.1,000 per month to gas affected families living below the poverty line, women widowed by the disaster, gas victims above 60 years without family support, families with children with toxic-induced congenital malformations and families where the bread earner has died or is too sick to work.

They demanded that the state government ensure availability of funds for relief and rehabilitation of people poisoned by Union Carbide at least for the next 30 years.

The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha (BGPMPSM), Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz (BKA) are some of the organisations taking part in the campaign.

Posted by bhola at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)

Bhopal gas leak victims protest government apathy

INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE, BHOPAL, FEBRUARY 23, 2007

Survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy here Friday took out a torch rally as part of a campaign to protest the state government's alleged apathy in providing relief and rehabilitation to them.

The survivors have been staging strikes for the past four days under the campaign 'Jeene Ka Haq' (Right to Live) that marks the first anniversary of their protest march from Bhopal to New Delhi in support of their demands.

The campaign was launched Tuesday to push for the resolution of their long-pending demands, including healthcare, economic rehabilitation and social support for the survivors and their families, availability of safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the Union Carbide Corporation's (UCC) now-defunct pesticide plant.

Disaster occurred on the night of Dec 2, 1984, when over 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl Iso-Cyanate (MIC) spewed out of the pesticide plant killing more than 3,000 people instantly and maiming thousands of people for life. More than 15,000 people affected with the exposure of toxic gas have died since then.

The leaders of various gas-survivors' organizations - including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha (BGPMPSM), Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz (BKA) - condemned the state government's and the Chief Minister's alleged continued indifference towards the suffering of the people poisoned by the UCC.
'The apathy of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is evident from the fact that he has not responded to any of the petitions submitted to him since June 2006. The organisations were promised a response from him by Feb 20 but there has been no word from his office so far,' said Rachna Dhingra of BGIA.

'This indifference towards the people poisoned by the UCC is prolonging their suffering and causing untimely deaths because the state government has failed in providing economic rehabilitation to the victims who have lost their livelihood as a result of gas exposure', claimed another activist Satinath Sarangi from BGIA.

'The state government is not only negligent towards the victims but it is also colluding with the corporations responsible for the disaster by attempting to incinerate part of the hazardous waste kept within the UCC factory. It has even sought Rs.20 million from the central government for the purpose,' alleged activist Champa Devi, who won the Goldman award for her services to the victims.

They are also demanding that the state government must ensure availability of funds for relief and rehabilitation of people poisoned by the UCC at least for the next 30 years.

Posted by bhola at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)