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August 22, 2005
Supreme Court committee horrified by conditions in government hospitals established to treat victims of the Union Carbide gas disaster
PRESS STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT MONITORING COMMITTEE REPORT
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
August 21, 2005
Leaders of four organizations active on issues concerning the lingering consequences of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal today presented copies of the latest report of the "Monitoring Committee for Medical Rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas Victims" at a press conference today. The monitoring committee was set up under the directions passed by the Supreme Court of India on August 17, 2004 in Writ Petition (Civil) No.50 of 1998 filed by the Bhopal Group for Information & Action and the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan. The 17-page report of the committee is based on surprise visits to five of the seven government hospitals that are meant to provide free medical care to the survivors of the disaster.
The committee found "short attendance, missing bulb and holders in operating theatre lights, fungus in the sterilization equipment", "uncontrolled growth of 'carrot grass'", "staff quarters remaining vacant ever since construction" and other deficiencies at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, Malikheri. Regarding this hospital the committee has commented "It is unfortunate that gross under utilization of a facility created out of a huge investment of scarce resources, has gone unattended so far."
During their surprise visit to Master Lal Singh Hospital in February 2005 the committee found an empty oxygen cylinder in the female ward. The committee has noted that the "nurse on duty could not give a satisfactory explanation for the empty cylinder" that was "obviously kept for use but without proper checking". The committee also found an "out of order suction machine in the children's ward due to the tube in the equipment being clogged" and noted the "non-availability of a child specialist for two and half years". Informed about the shortage of various specialists at this hospital the committee has recommended that the "State govt. should carry out a special survey of the needs of specialists in the hospital vis-a-vis the number of patients and take the required steps."
In the Pulmonary Medicine Centre the committee "found to its horror that one cylinder of nitrous oxide (used in anesthesia) was found stored with oxygen cylinders in the Store which was a matter of serious neglect of duty and an error with dangerous consequences." The committee also took exception to the absence of oxygen cylinders and emergency tray in the emergency room". The committee has also reported that the expensive Color Doppler equipment, ITV equipment for examination of lungs and the Blood Analyzer were lying in disuse for up to one year. The committee also found that the operating theatre and the intensive care unit in this hospital, though equipped, have been lying unused for the last year. The committee has informed the Supreme Court that the hospital was not being used "primarily as a pulmonary health facility" and that "the objectives with which this specialized hospital was brought into existence are not being satisfied. In fact the hospital has never been used for fulfilling those objectives."
During their visit to the Jawahar Lal Nehru hospital members of the monitoring committee found that the compounder administering Gentamycin injection to a small child "was not sure of the dose" and "could also not satisfactorily reply as to how much dose should be given to children." In the female ward the committee found that the case sheets of patients "do not show any record of chart, pulse and temperature." Noting that patients kept coming to the hospital off and on because "the relief is temporary and the ailment occurs again" the committee recommended holding consultation meetings between doctors available in various gas relief hospitals and the medical education department.
The committee found that out of 5 doctors on OPD duty at the Shakir Ali Khan hospital "only one was examining patients" and the remaining 4 doctors were absent till 9.30 am while their reporting time was 8 am. The emergency room was also found to be without a doctor and the driver of the ambulance van proved untraceable for an hour and a half.
The committee has recommended that hospitals carry out internal monitoring, organize monthly meetings with medical experts, computerize medical records and send 'Action Taken Reports [ATR]' on the recommendations made by the committee.
The committee has former Chairman, Public Sevice Commission, Mr O P Mehra as its Chairman and Dr. M H Kanehre, Consultant Surgeon, Dr. G C Baijal, Director Medical Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. H H Trivedi, Consultant Physician and journalist Purnendu Shukla as members. As Convenor of the committee Dr. Baijal is responsible for running the office of the committee and organizing its meetings and surprise visits to the hospitals.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh +91 9303132298
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha +91 9329026319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz +91 9826182226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action +91 9826167369
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal
Posted by bhola at 05:28 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
Chief Minister Gaur promises clean water "very soon"
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
August 20, 2005
PRESS STATEMENT
The Chief Minister today assured representatives of the residents of the 16 communities affected by ground water contamination that they will very soon be supplied with clean water through pipelines. The Minister of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation, Mayor of Bhopal, Commissioner, Bhopal Division, Collector, Bhopal and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation and other officials were present at the meeting with the 11 member delegation that included leaders of the four survivors' organizations.
The Chief Minister said that the State government will bear the expenses of the project of supplying water that is likely to cost over Rs. 9 Crores. The Chief Minister instructed the Mayor to convene a meeting of concerned officials and organize a visit of the affected area at the earliest. He directed that special efforts be made to include representatives of the communities in the planning and execution of the project to supply clean water. He stated that in supplying water there will be no discrimination against settlements marked as illegal in official records.
The Minister of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation expressed
dissatisfaction with the quality of water supplied to the contamination affected communities and directed the Mayor to ensure that water is supplied from Pul Bobda and not from Pul Patra as is being done currently.
The Mayor directed the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation to collect information on the quantity of water being supplied to the communities through tankers every day and compare the officials figures with that presented by the leaders of the survivors' organizations.
The delegation expressed satisfaction with the Chief Minister's active interest and positive attitude on this issue and said that they look forward to early commencement of the project.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
+91 9303132298
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
+91 9329026319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
+91 9826182226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
+91 9826167369
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Posted by bhola at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2005
Water situation worsens for contamination affected
August 17 2005
Press Statement
Women from the communities adjacent to the Union Carbide factory will tie "rakhis" on the Chief Minister's wrist this year seeking protection from poisons in the groundwater in their area.
Addressing a press conference today women from the communities whose ground water is poisoned by Union Carbide's chemical waste said that the system of supply of clean water to the 16 communities through tankers has been totally disrupted for the last two months.
Mrs. Shahazadi Bee from Blue Moon Colony said that no tanker has reached her community and the neighboring communities of Annu Nagar, Sundar Nagar and Shri Ram Nagar since June 25 this year. Mrs. Ram Bai from Prem Nagar said that despite a clear order from the Supreme Court of India and strong reminders from the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee not a drop of clean water has reached Prem Nagar, Navjivan Colony, Shiv Nagar, Gareeb Nagar and Timber Market till today. Supply of water to New Arif Nagar, Atal-Ayub Nagar and Nawab Colony has dropped down to half of the usual amount.
Tests done at the IIT Kanpur in 2000 showed that breast milk of the mothers in the ground water contaminated communities contained toxic and cancer causing chemicals such as Chloroform, Dichlorobenzene, Trichlorobenzene, Dochloromethane and heavy metals such as mercury and nickel.
A study carried out by the Sambhavna Trust in 2000 showed that while the national prevalence of anemia in women was 52%, 95% of women from these communities suffer from anemia.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
9303132298
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
9329026319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz,
9826182226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
9826167369
Posted by tim at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2005
Dow Quit India
August 9, 2005
Press Statement
On the occasion of the anniversary of the “Quit India” movement, four survivors organizations in Bhopal held a rally today in front of the Union Carbide factory to launch the “Accept Responsibility for Bhopal or Quit India” campaign against American multinational Dow Chemical the current owner of Union Carbide Corporation.
Over one thousand residents of the communities whose ground water have been poisoned by Union Carbide’s chemical waste, demanded that Dow Chemical clean up the poisonous chemicals in the ground water and soil in and around the factory, and pay compensation for the health and property damages caused by this toxic contamination.
The participants of the rally declared that they will not allow government scientific agencies to move hazardous chemical wastes from the factory for burning in an incinerator or burial in a landfill. They said that both these disposal technologies would further poison the environment and affect the health and lives of people in Gujarat and in Pithampur.
Speakers at the rally including Rashida Bee, Syed M Irfan, Hazra Bee and others said that while the domination of East India Company ended in 1947, today the country is being enslaved by multinational corporations. According to them, the recent brutalities unleashed by the management of Honda are no different from the atrocities of the British rulers.
The leaders pointed out that while Union Carbide Corporation continues to abscond Indian courts, it also continues to sell its products in India through a Mumbai based company called Mega Visa
Marketing Solutions Ltd. This could not be possible without the connivance of the Government of India.
Multinationals such as Union Carbide and Dow Chemical are profiting through poisoning the environment and damaging the health and lives of ordinary people. The speakers said there was need for revival of the spirit of the Quit India movement for the second battle the battle for freedom from the domination and pollution by multinationals.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
9303132298
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
9329026319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
9826182226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
9826167369
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal 462 010
Posted by tim at 01:58 AM | Comments (0)