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December 05, 2007
Eminent people condemn govt on Bhopal disaster
NEW DELHI: The 23rd Anniversary of Bhopal Gas Disaster was observed on December 3 by eminent personalities. Marking it as the "Black Day", these dignitaries gathered to condemned the Indian Government for bailing out DOW chemical (which was responsible for the tragedy in December 1984, killing and injuring thousands) of legal liabilities.
The conference was addressed by noted journalist and columnist Kuldip Nayar, academician activist Dr Kamal Mitra Chenoy, disability rights activist Javed Abidi and Dr Mira Shiva, initiative for health equity and society and All India Drug Action Network.
The group strongly criticized UPA government plans to dismiss DOW's liabilities in return for investment in India as per recent media reports. Besides being held responsible for the clean-up of the toxic wastes and groundwater in Bhopal, Union Carbide was declared an absconder in 1992 by the Bhopal Magistrate for its failure to honor summons to face charges of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder."
Ever since it took over Carbide in 2001, Dow Chemical has actively shielded the company from Indian courts even while profiting from the illegal sale of its products in India. "Bhopal is now equated with injustice, corporate crime and Government insensitivity towards their own.
For years, the criminal trial has not been able to progress because Union Carbide is absconding, and the Government has refused to act strongly to enforce its appearance. And now it seems to have been taken in by their billion dollar investment plans. It is high time Government represents its own people and not companies like Dow.
It must make Dow honor Indian law and lives" stressed Nayar. "The 1989 settlement, the manner in which it had been arrived, and its adequacy is grossly unjust. Even after 23 years the impact of the health disaster is being witnessed. It is a pity that long term studies by ICMR have been stopped mid way." said, Dr. Shiva.
"Moreover, by permitting Dow to sell products like Dursban which are banned in US due to its proven toxicity, Government has only shown its indifference towards peoples' health." Dow was fined heavily by US Securities Exchange Commission for bribing Indian Officials to facilitate its business, recently CBI raided Dow's offices across the country.
Over 20,000 gassed to death, 150,000 continue to be chronically ill and a new generation of children being born with severe birth defects. Dow's refusal to disclose the information regarding the composition of the gas leak and ICMR's failure to provide the toxicology reports barred the victims from getting appropriate treatment.
"High incidence of second generation effects in the children of gas exposed parents and now severe birth defects in the children being born in water affected areas only proves Government's failure to prevent incidences of disabilities where it was completely avoidable at the first instance." remarked Javed Abidi.
Besides arm twisting Indian Government Dow in fact has been trying all means to evade its liabilities including its repeated attempts at forging relationships with reputed Indian academic institutes.
Prof Chenoy commented, "we need to question and regulate the kind of companies that enter the academic institutes else before we realize our students would be manipulated into becoming unofficial spokesperson for these companies to suite their publicity gimmicks.
Dow is a company whose environment and accountability record worldwide is shocking. By refusing Dow entries into the campus IITians have not only prevented the company to use them to gain legitimacy in the country but also proved that Justice comes before Business." It is notable that last February, more than 55 survivors and their supporters walked to New Delhi and met the Prime Minister after a weeklong hunger strike.
At that time, the Prime Minister promised to act promptly on providing clean water, health care, employment and social support and set up a Coordination Committee to oversee the implementation of these assurances. However, the State Government has failed to implement any of the recommendations of the Committee.
The Centre too has shown no keenness to keep their word. Rather, documents obtained from the Prime Minister's Office reveal that the Prime Minister is actively pushing a proposal to grant Dow Chemical immunity so that Dow and Union Carbide can invest freely in India.
Forced by the failure of State Government to ensure effective relief and rehabilitation, Bhopal survivors declared this 23rd Anniversary as the "Black Day" and announced another Padyatra to compel Government not to surrender before Dow's billion dollar bait.
India Post News Service
Posted by tim at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2007
Gas tragedy survivors remember their lost kith and kin
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BHOPAL: Survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster, the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, held a torch light rally here to remember those killed by leaked lethal methyl isocynide gas from a Union Carbide pesticide plant 23 years ago.
Thousands of men, women and children marched through the city's streets carrying lit torches. They sought prompt payment of compensation to survivors and kin of the dead.
On the night of December 2, 1984, tonnes of a toxic gas leaked from the pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide, killing 3,800 people almost immediately. Thousands more sustained severe afflictions.
Over 2000 women became widows overnight because of the deadly gas leak.
Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said the rally, a tribute to the victims, was aimed at drawing attention to their plight.
"Today, we are lighting the candles to tell the world how 23,000 people have become victims of the poison spread by American companies. Till date people are dying in Bhopal due to diseases. So, we are mourning those dead and taking out the candlelight procession to bring attention to our plight," he said.
The participants also lit candles outside the Union Carbide factory where the rally culminated.
In 1984, Union Carbide accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and established a 100 million dollar charitable trust fund to build a hospital for the victims. Union Carbide was later taken over by Dow Chemicals.
After a protracted legal battle, Union Carbide paid 470 million dollars to the Indian Government as settlement in 1989. The victims, on an average, received 25,000 rupees in case of illness and 100,000 rupees in case of a death in the family.
Union Carbide India Ltd. began the cleanup work at the site after the incident, spending some two million dollars.
Posted by tim at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
Gas march with betrayal cry
Calcutta Telegraph, December 4, 2007
New Delhi, Dec. 3: Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak will march to Delhi in February to protest the Centre’s alleged betrayal in their struggle for compensation and justice.
On the 23rd anniversary of the horrific incident in which toxic gases from the Union Carbide plant killed thousands overnight, activists working with the victims claimed that the money received by the government from the company in an out-of-court settlement in 1989 had not reached many of those affected.
Dow Chemicals, which acquired Union Carbide in 1999, faces a case of environmental damages of $500 million, filed by the Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.
The victims’ families and activists allege that the Prime Minister’s Office, the Planning Commission and the ministries of commerce and finance were pressuring the chemicals ministry to withdraw the charges.
“The Centre has systematically betrayed the interests of victims and survivors of Bhopal. Don’t be surprised if they decide to pull out of the case against Dow soon,” said Mira Shiva, a toxicologist.
A hundred survivors, including children, will participate in a padyatra starting on February 10 from Bhopal. They will reach Delhi by mid-March.
Posted by tim at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2007
On 23rd anniversary, Bhopal gas tragedy victims threaten poll boycott
Bhopal, Dec 3 - Hundreds of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy Monday observed the 23rd anniversary of the lethal leakage that killed thousands of people and declared that they would boycott future elections till their long standing demands were not fulfilled.
The disaster that occurred on the intervening night of Dec 2-3, 1984, when more than 40 tonnes of Methyl-Iso-Cyanate and other poisonous gases spewed out of Union Carbide's pesticide plant, saw over 3,000 people instantly killed. Several thousand others were maimed for life. More than 15,000 people have died since then.
Hundreds of survivors of the disaster and their supporters marched to the abandoned Union Carbide factory, shouting slogans against Union Carbide, its present owner Dow Chemicals, and the central and state governments whom they hold responsible for their plight. They alleged they were in collusion with Union Carbide and current owner Dow Chemical Company, USA.
The protesters were joined by a large number of residents from the localities that are affected due to poisoning of the ground water from the chemical waste dumped in and around the factory.
Three organisations - Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmchari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha (BGPMPSM) and Bhopal Group for Information & Action (BGIA) - led the rally and demanded that Dow clean up the environmental contamination in Bhopal and pay compensation to those affected by the poisonous gases.
The marchers burnt effigies of Union Carbide and Dow Chemical, shown as 10-armed monsters with the faces of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra and US President George Bush and others representing the 'hands' of the American corporations.
Leaders of the organisations also lambasted the state government's report allegedly claiming that there was no hazardous effect on the people due to ground water contamination, and said it was 'clear that the state government is doing Dow's work'.
Describing the report a 'bundle of lies', they said they had communicated to the state government on Oct 1 that the study suffered from faulty design and shoddy data collection.
They also said the draft report had not been discussed by the core group of experts before releasing it to the media.
The leaders claimed that documents obtained by them from the Prime Minister's Office showed that the cabinet secretariat of the central government was 'actively seeking ways' to absolve Dow Chemical of its liabilities towards over 25,000 affected Bhopal residents.
They said the three major political parties - Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India-Marxist - were similar in their 'slavish attitude' towards American multinational Dow Chemicals.
They alleged that Dow was behind the violence in West Bengal's Nandigram and charged Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh with joining the 'band of traitors' by allowing it to set up an R&D centre in Pune.
Posted by tim at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
Gas tragedy: schools to observe silence
HYDERABAD: The National Green Corps students across 15,000 high schools would observe two minute silence in the school assemblies on Monday to protest the chemical accident in Union Carbide at Bhopal that occurred on the mid-night of December 2, 1984. In a press release issued here on Sunday, the APNGC informed that the headmasters and principals of the school will explain about the effects of Bhopal gas disaster to students.
–Staff Reporter
Posted by tim at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2007
Monument for Bhopal gas tragedy victims
Bhopal -- A monument of international standard would be constructed at the Union Carbide factory premises here in memory of the victims of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which claimed thousand of lives and maimed several lakhs of people.
Official sources said the monument would be built over an area of 87 acre at a cost of Rs 70 crore. The Housing and Environment department was preparing an outline in this regard. A provision of Rs ten crore as first installment towards the project had been made in the budget.
Meanwhile, the government had approved an amount of Rs 2.80 crore for the municipal corporation for making drinking water available for people in ten gas-affected wards.
Besides, a Rs 9.28 crore proposal for making permanent drinking water arrangements in 14 slums surrounding Union Carbide premises had been sent to the Centre for approval but had not been sanctioned so far. The government has provided Rs 3.60 crore from its limited resources to the municipal corporation for making clean drinking water available in these slums.
A scheme for rehabilitation of gas-affected people by providing them training in 'Zari' art and preparing artificial flowers and fruits had also been chalked out.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will take part in 'Sarva Dharma Sabha' at central library ground on December 3 at 1030 hours in Barkatullah Bhavan here and pay tributes to victims on the 23rd anniversary of the tragedy.
On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, thousands died after inhaling methyl isocyanate while several lakh continue to suffer the deleterious effect of inhaling the deadly vapours.
Posted by tim at 07:57 PM | Comments (0)