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May 13, 2006
Survivors welcome Coordination Committee, oppose inclusion of ex-Union Carbide doctor
BHOPAL GAS PEEDIT MAHILA STATIONERY KARMACHARI SANGH • BHOPAL GAS PEEDIT MAHILA PURUSH SANGHARSH MORCHA • BHOPAL GROUP FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION • BHOPAL KI AAWAAZ
May 13, 2006
PRESS STATEMENT, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Survivors organisations welcome the formation of a Coordination Committee, but oppose inclusion of ex-Union Carbide doctor instrumental imemdiately post-disaster in the sodium thiosulphate scandal that cost thousands of lives
Leaders of four organizations working with survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, today hailed the formation of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal by the Central government. However, they strongly condemned the composition of the committee that is dominated by government officials, that includes N P Mishra, a former medical advisor to Union Carbide, and that fails to include the majority of survivors' organisations in Bhopal. These four organizations have written to the Prime Minister requesting his personal intervention to ensure a more balanced committee that includes their representatives.
The four organisations who led the 800 kilometer long march to New Delhi in February this year had called specifically for the setting up of such a crucial committee as their first priority. The Prime Minister conceded to the demand on 17 th April after meeting with representatives of these organizations. In line with the demands of the four organisations, the Coordination committee is expected to plan and implement schemes for medical, economic and social rehabilitation of the people poisoned by Union Carbide in Bhopal. It is a travesty, they stated today, that none of their representatives have yet been incorporated into the Coordination Committee.
The organisations have also taken strong exception to the inclusion of Dr N P Mishra, former medical advisor to Union Carbide in Bhopal, in the committee. According to them Dr Mishra is responsible for thousands of preventable deaths because of his opposition to the administration of sodium thiosulphate to the survivors in the aftermath of the disaster. Many lives could have been saved, they asserted today, if gas-affected people had received this injection in time. Administration of sodium thiosulphate helpful as it was in detoxifying the body, also demonstrated that contrary to Union Carbide's position that only lungs and eyes were damaged by the toxic gases the poisons had actually entered the blood stream and caused damage to almost every organ in the body.
At least one of the nine members of the Committee, Ms Madhumita Dutta from New Delhi has already tendered her resignation to protest against the imbalance of the committee, the inclusion of Dr Mishra and exclusion of the leaders of the four organizations.
Rashida Bee, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
93031 32959
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
93290 26319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
98261 82226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
98261 67369
Contact : House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal 462 010
For the latest information on the Bhopal disaster please continue to visit www.bhopal.net
Posted by bhola at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2006
Invitation to a press briefing on the Maheshwar hydo-electric project on the Narmada, May 12th 2006
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
Jail Road, Mandleshwar, Khargone, M.P.,Telefax : 07283-233162
2,Sai Nagar, Mata Chowk, Khandwa, M.P., Tel : 0733-2228418
E-mail : nobigdam@sancharnet.in
PRESS INVITATION
To Editors, Bureau Chiefs, Chief reporters
This is to invite you for a Press Conference at Jantar Mantar on May 12th at 4:00 pm. to appraise you on the issue of Maheshwar Hydro-Electric Project and its implication for the people.
Several hundred people, affected by the Maheshwar Hydro-Electric Project being built on the Narmada River in the Narmada Valley, reached Delhi and demonstrated against the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Rural Electrification Corporation on May 11 th 2006 followed by a Public hearing in the evening at Jantar Mantar.
The Maheshwar Project is a privatized Project promoted by the S.Kumars and is being sought to be financed with public money from the Indian Financial institutions and banks. The power from the Project is likely to be high cost and it is likely to turn out to be another Enron. The people of the Narmada Valley have struggled against this Project since 1997.
The work on the Maheshwar Project that had remained closed since 2001 has been re-started in the last few months despite no availability of agricultural land for R&R, despite ongoing criminal proceedings against the S.Kumars, many financial irregularities noted in CAG and other Reports, and through the setting aside of all rules and regulations in the matter of investment of public money in a private project.
We solicit your presence at the Press Conference
With regards,
Alok Agarwal
(contact no. 094259-28007,29211703)
(Vimal bhai : 98918-14707)
Pragya Vats
www.pragya-vats.blogspot.com
Posted by bhola at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2006
Investors challenge Dow Chemical Management on the worst chemical disaster in history: shareholders say new Dow initiatives on Bhopal would be a smart business move
Press release from: Amnesty International USA
Shareholders of Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) will challenge CEO Andrew Liveris and the company’s top management at its annual meeting of stockholders on Thursday, May 11, 2006 to take new initiatives regarding the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster. Twenty two years after the disaster, current developments related to it threaten Dow’s reputation and business in India. A shareholder resolution on the agenda for this year’s annual meeting asserts that it would be respectful of human rights, and also a good business decision, for Dow to undertake new initiatives to address the needs of survivors.
Dow Chemical shareholders have filed a resolution requesting the company produce a report on new initiatives instituted by management to address health, environmental and social concerns of the Bhopal, India survivors. The shareholders who filed the resolution representing 4.5 million shares total (current value: $186 million), including the New York City Fire Department (NYCFD) Pension Fund, New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF), Boston Common Asset Management, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), Dominican Sisters: Grand Rapids, Sisters of Holy Cross and Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit Charitable Trust.
"Boston Common Asset Management has been pushing Dow Chemical for more than three years to address the clean up and medical concerns of the Bhopal survivors and Dow has still not stepped up to the plate while the risks to the company’s reputation and to its ability to do business in India may be increasing," said Lauren Compere Director of Shareholder Advocacy.
"The Bhopal tragedy is still taking an awful toll on the people of India. The longer Dow Chemical fails to address the lingering human issues related to the Bhopal tragedy, the greater the potential negative impact to its long-term profitability. As a fiduciary, I am concerned that if Dow does not put this problem to rest, it could hurt the company's current and future business relationships in India's huge and rapidly expanding market and around the world," said New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, sole trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
On the night of December 2nd, 1984, 27 tons of poisonous gas including methyl isocyanate leaked from a storage tank at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, and took the lives of more than 7,000 people within a matter of days -- the worst chemical disaster in history. Union Carbide is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical. Today the exposure to toxins has resulted in additional deaths of 15,000 people as well as chronic illness for over 100,000 more. Contamination of soil and groundwater at the surrounding facility continues to this day. Survivors of the disaster are working to pressure Dow Chemical to address the remaining social and environmental issues in Bhopal, and have built alliances with student and environmental activists worldwide to pressure Dow to cooperate.
Neil Sardana, a representative from AIUSA's Corporate Action Network, who will present the Bhopal resolution at the annual meeting said, "Dow has an obligation to address the ongoing environmental and human rights impacts of the UCC disaster; we will not rest until this happens."
As shareholders meet in Midland, Michigan at the Dow Center to cast a final vote on Bhopal resolution on the 2006 Proxy Ballot, shareholder proponents believe that if this issue remains unresolved it may undermine future growth of Dow Chemical business in Asia.
Recently as result of intensified pressure from a group of survivors of the Bhopal disaster and supporters, India’s Prime Minister agreed to demands to remedy the contamination and to provide water to the community, and also said he would explore whatever options existed within the law to hold UCC/Dow Chemical accountable.
Although the Indian government is overseeing the development of remedial plans, the future liabilities of Union Carbide and Dow Chemical remain unresolved.
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. said, "Given our long investment horizon, we believe that it is our fiduciary obligation to urge companies in which we invest to be responsible corporate citizens in the communities in which they operate. This approach is critical for ensuring the viability and sustainability of business in this rapidly growing global economy. Successful companies most likely will be the ones that incorporate sustainable use of environmental and social capital in their business decisions."
For more information please contact:
John Chartier
Deputy Press Secretary NYSCRF
917-468-8912
Amy O'Meara
AIUSA Business & Human Rights
212-633-4288
www.amnestyysa.org/business
Posted by bhola at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
May 06, 2006
Graduating TISS students declare support for Bhopal victims and Narmada dam oustees
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MUMBAI, 6th May, 2006 -- Students and faculty members of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences today expressed their solidarity with the continuing struggles of people affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the Bhopal gas survivors, when the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh inaugurated the “Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management” at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. During the convocation ceremony for TISS graduates held today, students handed over two separate memorandums to the Prime Minister highlighting the concerns and demands of the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy and of families affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The students wore badges in support of the movements and black bands to protest the indifference shown by the Prime Minister and his Government, especially in taking decisions that affected the interests of private corporations or the elite.
On April 17, the Prime Minister met Bhopal activists in New Delhi and conceded to four out of six demands. However, he said he was powerless to pressure Union Carbide or its new owner Dow Chemical to make them address their pending liabilities in Bhopal. He told the Bhopal delegation that "We have to do business. India has to survive despite these tragedies." While the Bhopalis ended their hunger strike based on the Prime Minister's assurances of clean water, clean up of contamination and the setting up of a national commission to coordinate medical and economic rehabilitation, they also launched an international campaign to hold Dow and Carbide accountable. The memorandum to the Prime Minister demanded that the Government should show more courage and commitment in bringing Union Carbide to justice. "We are ashamed to learn that the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy is powerless to bring a multinational corporation to justice. This bodes ill for the country as it launches into a feverish pace of industrialisation," said Charu Jain, a TISS graduate.
Condemning the anti-poor stance of the UPA Government in dealing with oustees of the controversial Narmada dam project, Aruna Pandey , a student said “Development that uproots people, impoverishes them and destroys their culture is called colonization. The Government’s proposal to pay cash compensation to oustees does nothing to address land and livelihood concerns.” Signatories to the Memorandum expressed outrage at the lack of efforts for adequate resettlement and rehabilitation of project affected population by the Governments in Narmada valley. The memorandum has called for the suspension of construction of the dam until the Supreme Court hearing on May 8th 2006 and the setting up of an independent mechanism for monitoring the rehabilitation situation; it also highlights the demand for the formulation of a comprehensive National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act. The memorandum also urges the Government to address the concerns of other poor people being evicted to accommodate industry or in the name of urban beautification.
For further information, please contact:
Aruna Pandey (Narmada): 9322922549
Ruchi Sankrit (Bhopal): 9819373795
LH1, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai
Visit: www.bhopal.net/blog_pr/, www.studentsforbhopal.org, www.narmada.org
Posted by bhola at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2006
Pallone, Army Corps announce $15 million in proposed funds for cleanup of radiation in Middlesex, New Jersey
CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE, JR.
Sixth District of New Jersey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2006
CONTACT: Andrew Souvall or Heather Lasher Todd, (202) 225-4671
Middlesex, NJ -- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), federal and state officials, and New Jersey elected leaders joined together today to announce $15 million in proposed federal funds for continuing the cleanup of chemical and radioactive contamination at the former Middlesex Sampling Plant in Middlesex, NJ.
The announcement was made at the site of the former Sampling Plant, which was used to process radioactive ores as part of the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb. While the plant site is no longer operational, large amounts of contamination are still present.
"Like so many other contaminated sites throughout Middlesex County, this site poses potential health threats and needs to get cleaned up as soon as possible," Pallone said today.
Pallone, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the cleanup is especially necessary now, as more and more people are purchasing homes in Middlesex Boro, in the vicinity of the former Sampling Plant site.
From the 1940s until 1967, the Middlesex Sampling Plant received a variety of radioactive ores (uranium, thorium, and beryllium) that were analyzed and sent to other sites for processing as part of the Manhattan Project. Activity at the site ended in 1967, at which point the site was supposedly cleaned of radiation and used temporarily as a Marine Corps reserve training facility. A site assessment in 1980 found continued contamination, and the area was declared a Superfund site in 1999. Remaining cleanup work includes moving any extra material to proper landfills and remediating subsurface soil and groundwater as necessary. The President's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2007 contains $15 million to do much of this work.
"I was pleasantly surprised to see that the President's budget contains $15 million for the former Middlesex Sampling Plant," Pallone said. "This funding level would actually allow the Army Corps to do all possible work on the site in the upcoming fiscal year to ensure it is safe for human use once again and does not pose a threat to the rest of the community."
Pallone said that while the $15 million in proposed federal funding is critical to moving the cleanup process forward, there is still further work to be done to ensure that the full amount of funding ends up in the final Appropriations Act for 2007.
"Back in Washington, I'm going to work with other members of the New Jersey delegation and with the Army Corps to make sure the Appropriators understand how important cleanup of this site is to the Boro and the region," Pallone said.
Posted by bhola at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)