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March 29, 2007

Who will be the first Chingari Award Winner?

INVITATION TO NOMINATE DESERVING CANDIDATES FOR
CHINGARI AWARD FOR WOMEN AGAINST CORPORATE CRIMES, 2007

Chingari Trust, an organisation set up by two remarkable women activists from Bhopal from their Goldman Prize money, invites you to nominate deserving candidates for this year’s Chingari Award for Women Against Corporate Crimes.

Starting this year, the Chingari Award will be given annually to a woman activist who has taken up the cause of a community waging a battle against corporate criminal activity in India. The award consists of a citation, a trophy which would be a replica of the statue in front of the Dow-Carbide factory in Bhopal (of a mother fleeing the poisonous gas with one child in her arm, while the other clings to her receding figure) along with a Prize amount of Rs. 50,000/-.

What makes this award unique is that it has been instituted by two members of the all-women survivor group “Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karamchari Sangh”, Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, from the prize money they received for the Goldman Environment Prize 2004. Despite the fact that both gas affected women are sole bread earners of their family and face severe health problems, they chose to give away the entire sum of money given in their personal names, to set up the Chingari Trust. The award is one of the activities that the Trust has instituted, along with a livelihood project for women survivors of the disaster and subsequent chemical contamination, and a health care programme for children born with congenital defects to gas affected parents.

The award has been instituted with the sole purpose of bringing to limelight the struggle of women who have pitted themselves against corporate crimes and whose lives are till now unsung and unnoticed. Chingari Trust believes that an award can inspire and give necessary impetus to a movement. Though the Trust has chosen to give the award to an individual rather than an organization, the guiding inspiration here is a people’s movement. The award will be kept non-political, non-sectarian, and in keeping with secular ideology. It will salute the dedication, invincibility and tenacity of women who have not given up hope.

This Award is expected to highlight the growing need for corporate accountability to be established in a variety of spheres, even as it reminds the world that we cannot afford to have more Bhopals in the name of development.

The following criteria may be kept in mind while nominating potential prize winners for the Award:

* A woman campaigning against corporate crimes [and/or government, incidentally]
* A woman taking up the struggle in a remote part of the country, especially from rural India
* a woman who put in a sustained struggle - at the time of nomination, there should be at least five years of struggle waged
* A woman, who along with others, brought about changes in a company’s behaviour or the lives of community due to the struggle waged in a democratic manner
* a woman who is well-respected and supported by her community/collective
* a woman who has conducted her work at great personal risk and hardship
* a woman whose current work would be significantly impacted by receiving the Award
* a woman whose work is not affiliated or associated with any political parties, which is non-sectarian and secular
* a woman who could provide significant inspiration to others around the country

A Jury of extremely eminent women will select the winner each year, by first shortlisting the number of potential winners to three from all the nominations received and then visiting these three women and their work personally.

The process for submitting nominations for the award is now open and we invite you to send in the duly filled in nomination forms (attached), before May 15th 2007 to:

(Via email): chingaritrust@gmail.com

(Via post): Chingari Trust, #44, Sant Kanwar Ram Nagar, Berasia Road, Bhopal.462018. Phone: 0755-2747500.

We request you to please send us the form filled in English or Hindi only and to kindly use your own resources to get forms in other languages to be translated into English or Hindi. If you have translated the filled in form from any other language, we would appreciate receiving the original form too, though we do not have the capacities to get the nomination translated into English or Hindi.

Only the three shortlisted candidates will be contacted by Chingari Trust. We appreciate your cooperation and support extended to Chingari Trust in this regard.

Download the application form here (Word document)

Posted by bhola at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)

SIPCOT residents continue to breathe toxic cocktail; TNPCB action to curb air pollution ineffective

From: SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitoring, Cuddalore

March 28, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIPCOT air remains heavily polluted endangering the health and lives of thousands of residents in the area, according to results of the latest air samples taken by SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitoring (SACEM). The two samples taken in February 2007 near the dispensary inside SIPCOT and at the entrance to Eachangadu village contained 15 chemicals totally, including four cancer-causing chemicals. Trichloroethene and Chloroform, both chemicals that have been banned even for industrial use in the West, were 1800 and 345 times above the US Environment Protection Agency (US EPA) Region 6 Screening levels respectively. Both chemicals cause liver and kidney cancers in animals and humans. Overall 11 chemicals out of 15 exceed the safe levels prescribed by US EPA.

"The latest results highlight the negligence of the SIPCOT units in preventing toxic chemicals from escaping from their factories and also highlights the inaction and lack of political will of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control in curbing air pollution in the region despite the matter being brought to their knowledge since 2004," said SACEM.

The chemicals in SIPCOT air were first brought to public notice by SACEM in 2004 when the collective of trained village environmental monitors from SIPCOT Cuddalore released the results of 5 air samples. The sample results revealed the presence of at least 22 dangerous chemicals including 8 carcinogens in extremely high levels. Though the report had met with a predictable denial from TNPCB and the SIPCOT industries, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes (SCMC) took it seriously and recommended the TNPCB and SIPCOT units to bring down the levels of chemicals by December 2004 (later extended to June 2005). The current results clearly highlight that the recommendations of the SCMC have not been adhered to; even the SCMC has not cared to follow up upon its own recommendations. In November 2004, the Cuddalore SIPCOT Industries Association conducted a secret study on air quality and VOCs in ambient air in SIPCOT. A leaked copy of the report indicates that the study found 13 out of 20 chemicals it looked for in SIPCOT's air. Eight chemicals exceeded safe levels prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. At least six of the chemicals found are known to cause cancer in animals and are potential human carcinogens. In August 2005, the TNPCB had commissioned National Environmental Engineering Research Institute to monitor for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at SIPCOT at a cost of Rs. 20.15 lakhs. The study was to be completed in 15 months by July 2006. But due to the lack of willingness to control pollution no results or interim reports have been released of this report so far.

"The Government and the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board, through their inaction, are willfully exposing Cuddalore residents to high levels of poisons. Children, women and sick people will be particularly affected as a result. The situation is probably already leading to numerous avoidable and premature deaths, and high levels of morbidity," SACEM said. "If the Government was as enthusiastic about curbing pollution, as it is to promoting more polluting industries in Cuddalore, the air would be cleaner."

For more details contact:

M. Nizamudeen – 9443231978
Shweta Narayan -- 9444024315

Posted by bhola at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2007

Gummidipoondi residents stop illegal construction of toxic waste landfill

GUMMIDIPOONDI, TAMILNADU, MARCH 21, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gummidipoondi, 21 March 2007 – More than 500 residents, primarily women, from S.R. Kandigai panchayat in Gummidipoondi physically entered and stopped work at the project site of Tamil Nadu Waste Management Ltd (TNWML)'s hazardous waste landfill and incinerator. The construction was being carried out without permission from the local Government bodies and against the wishes of local residents. Representatives of Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM) and Chennai based youth group Youth for Social Change (YSC) also joined the residents in solidarity.

Speaking on behalf of the village, Mr. T. Rosepillai, Panchayat president of S. R. Kandigai said "We will move into the project site with our children and families, and physically block the location of the landfill and incinerator if the company and Government decide to press ahead with the project. If the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, the TNPCB and Government does not protect us, we will protect ourselves."

TNWML, Hyderabad-based Ramky Associates' subsidiary, commenced civil works on the site on March 8 2007, despite being warned on three occasions against construction without securing permission from the Panchayat Union Council as per the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994. In June 2005, the Gummidipoondi Panchayat Union issued a resolution against the toxic facility. S.R. Kandigai Panchayat president also served a notice under the Panchayats Act to the project promoters asking them to stop work and restore the site to its original condition. A police complaint filed on 14 March, 2007, is pending with the SIPCOT Gummidipoondi police station.

Villagers said they are stopping work because Government agencies have failed to discharge their duty of protecting the law. The villagers had taken a similar action in January 2006 when the company had engaged in illegal construction of the landfill. Subsequently, village representatives had moved the Madras High Court and obtained an interim stay on the work. After a year long legal battle, the Madras High Court vacated the stay in December 2006 stating that according to the Supreme Court's order no High Courts in India have jurisdiction over issues relating to hazardous wastes and that the petitioners should take the matter to the Supreme Court of India.

The predominantly agricultural community in the area contends that the project violates Supreme Court-sanctified siting guidelines, and will poison subsurface water, affect agriculture and threaten the groundwater and public health in the residential areas that lie about 500 metres from the project site. While more than 85 percent of the blocks in Tamilnadu have been declared grey zones for groundwater where water levels have plummeted, Gummidipoondi is one of the few blocks with rich groundwater. The porous sand-stone layer at the surface means any contamination from the landfill will quickly flow to the groundwater. Siting guidelines prohibit the setting up of such facilities near water bodies. However, the project site is less than 100 metres from the Kuluva Cheruvu pond. Villagers also point out that it is ironical that the Tamil Nadu Government is contemplating setting up a landfill in an area that supplied several hundred tankerloads of freshwater to Metrowater in 2004. "On the one hand, the Government is contemplating mega-schemes such as the Rs. 500 crore desalination plant. On the other, it is spending money to poison good water," residents said.

The landfill site was arbitrarily recommended by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee and the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board after the earlier proposal to locate it in Melakottaiyur had to be abandoned because of public opposition.

Organised by: Gummidipoondi Residents and Villagers from S.R. Kandigai Panchayat

c/o T. Rosepillai, Panchayat President, S.R. Kandigai Post, Gummidipoondi Taluk. Tel: 9865415889

Chandrasekhar Reddy. Resident. Tel: 9443117946

In Chennai: Shweta Narayan, Community Environmental Monitoring. Tel: 9444024315

Website: www.sipcotcuddalore.com

Posted by bhola at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2007

Bhopal hunger strikers end their fast as the State government agrees to implement key demands to improve life for the survivors of the Union Carbide gas leak and ongoing water poisoning

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 19, 2007

PRESS STATEMENT, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

After fourteen days of fasting to press their demands for water, medical care and rehabilitation for the people poisoned by Union Carbide in Bhopal, six of the "Right to Live" campaigners today broke their indefinite fast. The decision to end the fast and the 27 day long dharna was taken after the state government accepted key demands of the four organisations of survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal. The fasters accepted glasses of juice from the District Collector, Mr S K Mishra who was authorised by the Chief Minister to negotiate with the representatives of the four organisations. On behalf of the state government the Collector handed over a written response to each of the demands raised by the four organizations.

As per the agreement reached with the state government, immediate steps will be taken to fill vacant posts in the hospitals meant for gas affected people and to improve quality of medicines and facilities for investigations there. Doctors and specialists at the gas relief hospitals will now be contracted for five years in place of the current practice of contracting for two years. The government has also agreed to vacate the 152 work sheds in the Special Industrial Area within three months to establish employment generating industries within a year. Additionally, the state government will help survivors form Self Help Groups that will carry out production activities and survivors will be given priority in granting loans and subsidies through existing self employment schemes.

The state government has also agreed to provide all information on the soil and ground water contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory and to build a wall around the factory to protect children and cattle from the hazardous materials therein. For provision of safe water in the communities in the vicinity of the abandoned factory, 50 additional tanks will be provided within a month's time.

The demands of the campaigners regarding setting up of an office of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal and formation of sub-groups on medical care, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation with participation of survivors' organisations have also been accepted by the state government. On behalf of the state government the Collector has taken the responsibility to set up meetings of the representatives of the four organisations with concerned officials and to organise a follow up meeting after one month to take stock of progress made with regard to the different issues.

The Bhopal organisations say public actions have been planned in India and abroad for April and May in the event that the State Government fails to honour its commitments.

Hundreds of survivors of the disaster and residents of communities next to the abandoned Union Carbide factory affected by ground water contamination, danced to the beat of drums over the victory of their long struggle. They rejoiced at the fact that some of the issues of relief and rehabilitation that should have been resolved at least 20 years back have now been taken up by the state government. The survivors requested their supporters in Washington, DC to break their 3-day old fast in solidarity with the Bhopalis in front of the Indian embassy. Supporters from India, US and other countries have sent more than 2000 faxes to the Chief Minister, and made more than 500 phone calls to senior bureaucrats and ministers in the Madhya Pradesh Government.

The four organisations thanked their local, national and international supporters for contributing to this hard earned victory. They also thanked the District Collector and advocate Satish Tewari who mediated on behalf of the organisations for their hard work and patience in resolving many of the long pending issues of the survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster.

Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal

Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for justice in Bhopal

Posted by bhola at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2007

Police Arrest/Hospitalise Fasting Survivors of Gas Tragedy, Non Resident Indians Fasting in front of Indian Embassy, Washington, DC Urge Acceptance of the Demands of the Bhopalis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Five Bhopali hunger strikers – Rashida Bee, Rachna Dhingra, Jabbar Khan, Guddi Bee, and Shehzadi Bee – were forcibly arrested by two truckloads of policemen at 7am today in Bhopal, India. The Bhopal District Collector, Mr. B.K. Mishra, admitted to issuing the orders to remove the hunger strikers and said charges of attempted suicide may be pressed on the strikers. The hunger strikers were on the thirteenth day of an indefinite fast as part of sit-in protests called “Right to Live” which began on 20th February. Rachna Dingra was still sleeping when they grabbed her by her hands and feet and violently removed her. Threats of rape were made against other women protestors by the state police. Reports from Bhopal’s Hamidia Hospital indicated that attempts were on to strap the resisting hunger strikers to beds to force feed them.

In Washington DC Non-resident Indians, students and other concerned groups of the Indian diaspora held loud protests outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC on Thursday, March 15th. Solidarity fasts by over 10 hunger strikers are being held in front of the embassy for the next two days (17th and 18th March) in support of the survivors in Bhopal. In solidarity with the protesting Bhopalis, concerned citizens across the country are taking part in an indefinite relay fast which will continue as long as the Bhopal survivors stay on their hunger strike.

Professor Mohan Bhagat, at the University of Maryland, says: “As Indians living in the diaspora we hang our heads in shame when asked about an India that claims to be a big player on the world scene, but at the cost of spilling the blood of her own people.” Somu Kumar, on a fast in Washington DC, says, "The fact that six Bhopal survivors are in a hunger-strike for last 13 days for the most basic of all needs - clean-drinking water, is appalling; more worrying is that Madhya Pradesh Government is turning a blind-eye. Arun Gopalan, president of the Maryland chapter of AID, is outraged, “Do we want India to shine with the blood of its own citizens?” he said in reference to recent violence in Nandigram and Bhopal, and the “India Shining” campaign of Indian BJP party – in power in Madhya Pradesh State.

"Force-feeding is an act of violence and a violation of the Bhopalis' human rights," said Ryan Bodanyi, the Coordinator of Students for Bhopal. "The Bhopalis are fasting to save lives. If the government wants the same, they can start by agreeing to the Bhopalis' demands, such as access to poison-free drinking water and competent medical care for Carbide's victims."

Over the last twenty-five days, international supporters of the Bhopal campaign have sent over two thousand faxes to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Over four hundred phone calls have been made to various state government officials. Bhopal survivors in India have called a nationwide agitation towards the Madhya Pradesh government, resolving to not end the strike until their demands are met.

In April of 2006, the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh conceded to survivors’ demands for clean water, environmental rehabilitation, and economic and medical rehabilitation. The Union Ministry of Chemicals said that the state government has not responded to repeated reminders asking for an update on the progress of commitments made by the State in the meetings of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal. The protestors demand proper medical care, clean drinking water, containment of toxic wastes, pension for widows and families with congenitally disabled children, economic rehabilitation, and protection from Union Carbide's poisons that have killed and maimed for 22 years. Current Carbide owner Dow Chemical so far has refused to clean up the site. One of the hunger strikers, Goldman Environmental Prize winner Rashida Bee, lost six family members to cancer and herself has suffered from chronic health problems ever since the disaster.

On December 2, 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Advocates say Carbide's owner Dow Chemical is to blame for daily deaths in Bhopal, due to its refusal to clean up the disaster site and provide adequate care to the survivors. Over 22,000 people have died in the aftermath of the disaster and over six hundred thousand have been affected.

Union Carbide's internal documents show the company cut corners on safety and maintenance to save money. On the night of the disaster none of the six safety systems at the Union Carbide plant were functional. Following a partial 1989 settlement, Union Carbide fled India, leaving behind unresolved criminal liabilities and several thousand metric tons of hazardous waste, which has poisoned the drinking water for Bhopal residents. Dow Chemical Company claims it has no responsibility for the ongoing deaths. Amnesty International termed Dow's behavior as a fundamental violation of the Bhopalis' human rights. Eighteen members of the US Congress signed a letter to Dow in 2003, calling Dow's behavior a "blatant disregard for the law."

Contact:
Somu Kumar, somukumar@gmail.com, 1-703-728-8987
Aquene Freechild, Aquene@gmail.com, 617-378-2579

www.bhopal.net - Photos free for download on this site, please request for higher resolution images.
www.studentsforbhopal.org

Posted by jennifer at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2007

Hunger strikers being strapped to beds in hospital to force feed them: police used violence during the arrests and threatened to rape women supporters

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 17, 2007

PRESS STATEMENT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Five Bhopali hunger strikers, including four gas survivors – Rashida Bee, Rachna Dhingra, Jabbar Khan, Guddi Bee, and Shehzadi Bee – were forcibly picked up by two truckloads of policemen at 7 am today. The Bhopal District Collector, Mr. B.K. Mishra, admitted to having issued the orders to remove the hunger strikers to Hamidia Hospital, and said charges of court-attempted suicide may be pressed on the strikers. Ironically, at least two of the hunger strikers come from an area where people are forced to consume water contaminated by Union Carbide’s poisons due to the government’s refusal to provide clean water. The hunger strikers were on the thirteenth day of an indefinite fast which was launched after thirteen days of dharna which began on 20th February, marking the anniversary of the 800 kilometre Padyatra from Bhopal to Delhi.

In April of last year, the Prime Minister conceded to survivors’ demands for clean water, environmental rehabilitation, and economic and medical rehabilitation. Despite the availability of funds with the government for implementation of these demands and the constitution of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal involving the State and Centre officials and survivor representatives, the State has shown no progress in implementing any of these schemes. The hunger strike, prompted by the state government’s inaction, underscores the following standing demands of the Bhopal survivors: proper medical care, clean drinking water, containment of toxic wastes, pension for widows and families with congenitally handicapped children, and economic rehabilitation in the form of jobs for 10,000 survivors.

Reports from Hamidia Hospital indicate that attempts are on to strap the resisting hunger strikers to beds in order to force feed them. Over the last twenty-five days, international supporters of the Bhopal campaign have sent more than two thousand faxes to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. More than four hundred phone calls have been made to various state government officials. The Ministry of Chemicals indicated that the state government has not responded to repeated reminders asking for an update on the progress on commitments made by the State in the meetings of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal. Bhopal survivors have decided to call a nationwide agitation towards the Madhya Pradesh government, and have resolved to not end the strike until their demands are met.

Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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 :
Champa Devi Shukla, Ph: 9302432298
Shalini Sharma, Ph: 9993184619
House No. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal

Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for justice in Bhopal. Please visit www.studentsforbhopal.org to send a free fax asking for the hunger strikers' release and that their demands should be met

Posted by bhola at 06:04 AM | Comments (0)

3-day Solidarity Fast for Bhopal begins Today Outside Indian Embassy in Washington DC: NRIs Urge Acceptance of the Demands of the Bhopali Survivors on Hunger-Strike, Condemnation against Police Brutality on Nandigram Farmers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 16, 2007


Washington DC - Solidarity fasts by over 10 volunteers with Association for India’s Development and Students for Bhopal are being held in front of the Indian Embassy for the next 3 days (16th to 18th March) in support of the survivors in Bhopal who despite being on their 12th day of an indefinite hunger strike demanding basic amenities like poison-free drinking water and access to competent medical care, are yet to hear from the Madhya Pradesh government. The MP government has dragged its feet in fulfilling a Supreme Court order to provide clean water and full federal funding for the project.

Concerned citizens and members of the Indian diaspora also held a vibrant protest outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC at 4pm yesterday, demonstrating their outrage and alarm at the callousness and apathy of the governments of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal and complete disregard for the life of the common citizen, as evinced from the recent happenings in Bhopal and Nandigram. The public fast starts this afternoon (~3-4:30pm) despite heavy rain and snow, fasters will sit in public at the Embassy each afternoon this weekend to demand action from the government. *** Contact Somu Kumar for exact location and times.***

The fasters in Washington DC are also strongly condemning the brutal killing of farmers in Nandigram, in an unprecedented act of inhuman violence unleashed by the state machinery on 14th March, 2007.

While the official estimate of the death toll at Nandigram is between 14 and 20, non-governmental sources on the ground are reporting that the death toll may have crossed 100. Many are reportedly missing and do not count in official death tolls. It is feared that several bodies may have been dumped in the sea so they cannot be identified [1].

Prof Mohan Bhagat, director of the Association for India’s Development and a faculty at the University of Maryland, says: “As Indians living in the diaspora we are truly hanging our heads in shame when people ask us what is wrong with India that claims to be a big player on the world scene but can only do so by spilling the blood of her own people?” He urges the Indian ruling elite to abandon all anti-people policies and devise methods that will lead to the betterment of the citizens from the bottom up.

Overwhelming concern and support for the Bhopali survivors has poured in from all corners of the world - over 2000 faxes have been sent to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan and over 350 phone calls made to various government offices in India, urging the government to accept the basic demands of the survivors.

Somu Kumar, a volunteer with Students for Bhopal, who is on a fast in Washington DC, says, "The fact that six Bhopal survivors are in a hunger-strike for last 11 days for the most basic of all needs -- clean-drinking water -- is appalling; more worrying is the fact that Madhya Pradesh Government is turning a blind-eye to their just demands. It makes me wonder whether we are living in a democracy."

In a separate petition to the Chief Minister of West Bengal which has received over 400 signatures in less than a day, the advocates are demanding an independent probe into the killings of farmers in Nandigram, withdrawal of police and armed party cadres from the area, and immediate action by the state government to economically rehabilitate the bereaved and the affected.

An outraged Arun Gopalan, president of the Maryland chapter of AID, comments: “While people in Bhopal are waiting for justice for the last 23 years, people in Nandigram are being killed so that they do not even exist to seek justice! Do we want India to shine with the blood of it own citizens? Is this the sort of development we want to see? ” Arun will also join the solidarity fast.

In Bhopal, on the 14th day of the "Jeene kaa Haq" (Right to Live) campaign led by four Bhopal Chemical Disaster Survivors organizations, 6 representatives of survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster started an indefinite fast on March 5th, demanding medical care, economic and social rehabilitation and protection from Union Carbide's poisons that have killed and maimed for 22 years. The survivors also work with those affected by ground water contamination from the abandoned Union Carbide factory site where the deadly 1984 accident occurred. Current Carbide owner Dow Chemical so far has refused to clean up the site. The hunger strikers include Goldman Environmental Prize winner Rashida Bee, who lost six family members to cancer, and herself suffers from chronic health problems ever since the disaster.

Contact:
Somu Kumar, somukumar@gmail.com, 1-703-728-8987
Aquene Freechild, Aquene@gmail.com, 617-378-257
Nirveek Bhattacharjee, nirveek@bme.jhu.edu, 410-627-7679

www.bhopal.net
www.studentsforbhopal.org

Posted by jennifer at 03:47 AM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2007

Chief Minister promises that all "logical and lawful demands" will be met, survivors say that all their demands are indeed logical and lawful and that the fast will end only when they are accepted

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 10, 2007
Press Statement

On the 19th day of ‘Right to Live’ dharna and the 6th day of the indefinite fast by the people poisoned by Union Carbide and their supporters the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh assured a delegation that all “logical and lawful” demands would be met. The Chief Minister also urged the delegation to end the indefinite fast. The four organizations leading the agitation said that all of their demands were indeed logical and lawful and that they would end the fast only after the Chief Minister accepts their demands.

Earlier in a meeting with the Director of Gas Relief in which detailed discussions were held regarding medical care, economic, social and environment rehabilitation, the official concluded that the demand put forth by the survivor organizations were indeed logical.

The delegation also held a 2 hour meeting today with the Principal Secretary of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation along with Collector, Bhopal, Commissioner, Bhopal Municipal Corporation and other officials. The Principal Secretary admitted failure in the part of the government in providing proper medical care & adequate rehabilitation. He assured the delegation that he would prepare a note on the basis of discussion on each of the demands for the Chief Minister by Monday, 12th March.

Meanwhile the people on fast have lost 4 to 9 kg of body weight and are secreting Ketone and Protein in their urine. On the advice and insistence of Dr. H.H. Trivedi, former Professor of Medicine at Gandhi Medical College the fasters have started taking electrolytes in water from this evening.

Posted by jennifer at 04:30 AM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2007

Survivors of Union Carbide's poison block traffic and burn an effigy of the chief minister to protest the indifference of the MP government to their plight

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 7, 2007
Press Statement

Survivors of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal today blocked traffic in one of the main city crossings and burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister to protest against the apathetic attitude of the state government towards the suffering of the people affected by the American multinational’s poisonous chemicals.

The protest sought to draw the attention of the chief minister towards the ongoing indefinite fast by six survivors and their supporters for relief and rehabilitation of the survivors of the disaster and those exposed to ground water contamination due to hazardous waste from the factory.

This evening a delegation consisting of Com D Raja (09818907430)General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, Professor Suroopa Mukherjee and Shalini Sharma are scheduled to meet with Mr Ramvilas Paswan, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers on behalf of the four organizations who are leading the campaign of the Bhopal survivors. During the discussion with the delegation Mr. Paswan called up the survivors on fast and ensured them that tomorrow he will talk to the Prime Minister on the problems of Bhopal gas survivors. Gas survivors are demanding that Chief Minister meets with them.

This morning the fasting protestors refused to meet with Minister of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Babulal Gaur who had sent word through an officer. They said that the Minister had shown nothing but indifference towards the survivors and was more a part of the problem than the solution.

They pointed out that in August 2005 the minister had promised safe water supply to 250 women from the communities affected by ground water contamination who had tied “rakhi” on his wrist seeking protection from Carbide’s poisons. Three months later when a delegation of the women went to complain that not a drop of the promised water had reached them, the minister filed criminal cases against them.

In January this year when Rashida Bee, one of the survivors’ leaders currently on the third day of indefinite fast, went to meet with Mr Gaur, the Minister kept his eyes closed throughout the meeting and refused to look at the information she had brought on children with congenital malformations born to gas and contamination exposed parents.


Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215
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. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal
Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for justice in Bhopal

Posted by jennifer at 04:56 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2007

Poverty and Politics force Hunger Strike Showdown with Bhopal Survivors, US Bhopal supporters outraged at Indian state’s intentional neglect

International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wed., March 6, 2007

Bhopal, India - Six representatives of survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster started an indefinite fast yesterday, demanding medical care, economic and social rehabilitation and protection from Union Carbide's poisons that have killed and maimed for 22 years. Advocates from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal are anguished at the apathy of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) state government towards the Bhopal survivors, who made their demands known in public demonstrations for the last 14 days. Within a day of the hunger-strike announcement, concerned Non-Resident Indians and supporters sent over 400 faxes and made scores of phone calls to the MP Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s office (CMO) urging the government to accept the basic demands of the survivors.

Rajat Dua of Association for India’s Development - Atlanta Chapter said, “The death rate in Bhopal due the gas disaster, water contamination, loss of livelihood, and bad health care is at minimum 10-15 Bhopalis each month. Survivors are putting their lives on the line to force the Madhya Pradesh government to face what is really killing them – the government’s own inaction.” Indeed, the provision of clean water was mandated by the Indian Supreme Court and federal funds for the project have sat unused for many months.

“There are few deeds so dark as slowly poisoning a person to death," said Ryan Bodanyi, the Coordinator of Students for Bhopal. "Yet the state government refuses to provide poison-free water to thousands of its own citizens. The Bhopalis want to live, and it's a travesty that they've once again been forced to take to the streets by the cruelty and callousness of their own government."

The fast is part of the ongoing "Jeene kaa Haq" (Right to Live) campaign led by four Bhopal Chemical Disaster Survivors organizations. The survivors also work with those affected by ground water contamination from the abandoned Union Carbide factory site where the deadly 1984 accident occurred. Current Carbide owner Dow Chemical so far has refused to clean up the site. The hunger strikers include Goldman Environmental Prize winner Rashida Bee, who lost six family members to cancer, and herself suffers from chronic health problems ever since the disaster. "We aren't asking for much, just the right to live a decent life," she says about the current campaign.

The survivors are demanding free medical care for the residents of communities near the abandoned Carbide factory who rely on contaminated ground water. They are also calling upon the state government to ensure adequacy of doctors and diagnostic equipment in the hospitals and clinics meant for treatment of the poisoned people.

Guddi Bi, Jabbar Khan and Shehzadi Bi, who live next to the Union Carbide factory and are affected due to contaminated ground water, have also joined Rashida Bi in the hunger-strike. Shehzadi Bi, who was also exposed to the toxic gases in 1984, has prepared herself for anything that may come her way: "If my death saves another 600,000 people from dying, then it's worth it." The survivors are supportive of other environmental justice movements and use ‘No More Bhopals’ as a frequent slogan.

The other two hunger-strikers, Rachna Dhingra and Satinath Sarangi have been involved with relief, research and campaign efforts in support of the Bhopal survivors for last several years. Sarangi, who moved to Bhopal the day after the gas-disaster, is the Managing Trustee of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, which provides free treatment to 200 survivors daily. Dhingra, moved to Bhopal 4 years ago, after completing her studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she helped push the first campus resolution on Bhopal, as part of the student group, Association for India’s Development.

According to the organizations, over 50,000 people affected by the disaster in 1984 are unable to continue with their occupations as a result of their exposure-induced chronic illnesses. They pointed out that despite the expenditure of Rs. 600 million, the state government has provided jobs to less than 100 survivors. Survivors demanded effective utilization of infrastructure worth Rs. 230 million that the government built for their economic rehabilitation.

Citing the additional burden of medical care costs, the organizations are calling upon the state government to provide monthly pension of Rs. 1000 per month to families who have children born with congenital malformations caused by their parents' toxic exposure. They are demanding that this amount should also be provided to women widowed by the disaster and to families in which the breadwinner has died or is too sick to work.

Starting from 1990, 10 government and non-government scientific investigations have confirmed the presence of cancer and birth defect causing chemicals in the ground water up to 3 kilometers from the abandoned pesticide factory of Union Carbide. The factory in which Greenpeace found mercury contamination up to 6 million times more than safe levels is open to children and cattle and the toxic waste lying within the factory continues to leach in to the soil and ground water.

The organizations are demanding that the state government make arrangements for secure containment of the toxic waste and build walls around the factory; they also are demanding provision of safe drinking water by the state government per the direction of the Supreme Court of India.

Contact:
Nirveek Bhattacharjee, nirveek@bme.jhu.edu, 410-627-7679
Aquene Freechild, Aquene@gmail.com, 617-378-2579

See: www.studentsforbhopal.org and www.bhopal.net

Posted by jennifer at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2007

Six representatives of survivors of the Union Carbide Gas Disaster go on an indefinite hunger strike until demands of the 'Right to Live' campaign are met

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Bhopal Group for Information and Action

March 5, 2007

Press Statement

Six representatives of survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster in Bhopal today started their indefinite fast demanding medical care, economic and social rehabilitation and protection from Union Carbide's poisons that continue to kill and maim people even after 22 years. The fast is part of the ongoing "Jeene kaa Haq"(Right to Live) campaign led by four organizations of the survivors of the disaster and those affected by ground water contamination caused due to the negligence of Union Carbide's current owner Dow Chemical company.

The hunger strikers include Goldman Environmental Prize winner Rashida Bee who lost six family members to cancer and herself suffers from chronic physical and mental problems ever since the disaster. Others include Guddi Bee and Jabbar Khan who live next to the Union Carbide factory and are affected due to contaminated ground water. The fourth member in the group Shehazadi Bee was exposed to Carbide's toxic gases in 1984 and then to contaminated water when she moved in to a community close to the factory. The other two hunger strikers are Rachna Dhingra and Satinath Sarangi who are not affected themselves but have been involved with relief, research and campaign efforts in support of the Bhopal survivors for last several years.

The organizations are demanding free medical care of the residents of communities near the Union Carbide factory with contaminated groundwater, implementation of a Drug Policy to ensure evidence based treatment with quality medicines and greater emphasis on Yoga and herbal treatments in the health care of the people affected by toxic chemicals. They are also calling upon the state government to ensure adequacy of doctors and diagnostic equipment in the hospitals and clinics meant for treatment of the poisoned people.

According to the organizations, over 50, 000 persons affected by the disaster in 1984 are unable to continue with their occupations as a result of their exposure induced chronic illnesses. They pointed out that despite the expenditure of Rs 60 Crores, the state government has provided jobs to less than 100 survivors and demanded effective utilization of the Rs. 23 Crore infrastructure created for the economic rehabilitation of the survivors.

Citing the additional burden of medical care costs, the organizations are calling upon the state government to provide monthly pension of Rs. 1000 per month to families who have had children born with congenital malformations caused by the toxic exposure of their parents. They are demanding that this amount should also be provided to women widowed by the disaster, families in which the breadwinner has died or is too sick to work and those below the official poverty line.

Starting from 1990, 10 government and non-government scientific investigations have confirmed the presence of cancer and birth defect causing chemicals in the ground water up to 3 kilometres from the abandoned pesticide factory of Union Carbide. The factory in which Greenpeace found mercury contamination up to 6 million times more than safe levels is open to children and cattle and the toxic waste lying within the factory continue to leach in to the soil and ground water.

The organizations are demanding that the state government make arrangements for secure containment of the toxic waste and build walls around the factory. The organizations are also demanding provision of safe drinking water by the state government as per the directions of the Supreme Court of India.

Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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

____

Bhopal contact:
House No. 60, Risaldar Colony,
Union Carbide Road, Bhopal
462 001

New Delhi contacts:
Shalini Sharma: 9891442037
Suroopa Mukherjee: 9818029882

Please visit www.bhopal.net/ for latest information on the situation in Bhopal.

Posted by jennifer at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2007

Survivors' Die-in draws attention to the on-going suffering and deaths caused by the MP Government's indifference to their demands

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 3, 2007

Press Statement

Over 100 survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in
Bhopal staged a die-in in front of the residence of Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan to draw his attention to the ongoing dharna by
four survivors' organizations demanding health care and rehabilitation from the state government.

The survivors, most of them women, lay on the road right opposite the
entrance to the Chief Minister's residence covering themselves with
white sheets. Rashida Bee, leader of one of the organisations, said
that the Madhya Pradesh government's criminal indifference towards the plight of the people poisoned by Union Carbide was prolonging the
suffering of the victims and causing untimely deaths. She hoped that
the die-in would serve as a stark reminder to the Chief Minister
regarding the state government's duties towards victims of American
multinational Union Carbide.

Syed M Irfan, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush
Sangharsh Morcha said that the state government was ignoring the
decisions of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal set up by the Prime
Minister last year for relief and rehabilitation of Bhopal victims. He said that the state government was also guilty of not following the directions of the Supreme Court regarding supply of safe water to the communities next to the abandoned Union Carbide factory that are
affected by ground water contamination.

The organizations also announced a "Black Holi" tomorrow as a mark of
condemnation of the state government's apathy. They have urged
survivors of the disaster to play Holi with black colour keeping in
mind that a group of survivors and their supporters will begin their
indefinite fast from March 5. Rashida Bee who has lost six family
members to cancer and is herself undergoing treatment for exposure
related illnesses said that she and her fellow activists were prepared to die to assert the right to life of the victims of Union Carbide.

Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal

Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for
justice in Bhopal

Posted by jennifer at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

Bhopalis arrested at die-in outside Chief Minister's house: Urgent Action and Press Statement

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

CALL FOR URGENT ACTION

Seven Bhopalis have been arrested and taken to two police station for being part of a die-in in front of the Chief Minister's House. A press release of today's demo is pasted below. Rashida Bee, Rachna Dhingra, Shehzadi Bee, Guddi Bee, Vikas, Mehfuz are being held at the Women's Police Station (Tel: +91 755 2443860). Irfan Bhai is being held at Shyamala Hills (+91 755 2661477). Please call all below numbers.

Take Action TODAY!! Call for the Release of the Bhopal Survivors.

1. Call in the M.P. Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan at
( If you're calling from the United States , don't forget to preface your calls with the 011 country code)
· +91-755 2441581 (office)

Call Mr. Iqbal Singh, Secretary, CM -- +91 755 2441314

Call Mr R.C. Sahni, Chief Secretary, cellphone: +91 9245151652.

Call Shyamala Hills Police Station: +91 755 2661477

PRESS STATEMENT

March 3, 2007

Seven people from among 100 survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal were arrested today staged a die-in in front of the residence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to draw his attention to the ongoing dharna by four survivors' organisations demanding health care and rehabilitation from the state government.

The survivors, most of them women, lay on the road right opposite the entrance to the Chief Minister's residence covering themselves with white sheets. Rashida Bee, leader of one of the organisations, said that the Madhya Pradesh government's criminal indifference towards the plight of the people poisoned by Union Carbide was prolonging the suffering of the victims and causing untimely deaths. She hoped that the die-in would serve as a stark reminder to the Chief Minister regarding the state government's duties towards victims of American multinational Union Carbide.

Syed M Irfan, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said that the state government was ignoring the decisions of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal set up by the Prime Minister last year for relief and rehabilitation of Bhopal victims. He said that the state government was also guilty of not following the directions of the Supreme Court regarding supply of safe water to the communities next to the abandoned Union Carbide factory that are affected by ground water contamination.

The organisations also announced a "Black Holi" tomorrow as a mark of condemnation of the state government's apathy. They have urged survivors of the disaster to play Holi with black colour keeping in mind that a group of survivors and their supporters will begin their indefinite fast from March 5. Rashida Bee who has lost six family members to cancer and is herself undergoing treatment for exposure related illnesses said that she and her fellow activists were prepared to die to assert the right to life of the victims of Union Carbide.

Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal

Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for justice in Bhopal and www.studentsforbhopal to take action to support the survivors

Posted by bhola at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2007

Survivors accuse Madhya Pradesh government of squandering huge sums supposed to have been spent on the provision of employment to gas victims

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

March 2, 2007

PRESS STATEMENT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On the completion of ten days of their "Jeene ka Haq" dharna ("Right to Live" sit-in) the four organisations campaigning against the Madhya Pradesh government today addressed a press conference on the issue of economic rehabilitation of the survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster.

Rashida Bee founder and president of the trade union of women workers employed at the stationery production centre under the government printing press spoke on the injustice and discrimination against gas affected workers. She said that the stationery production centre, employing 79 gas affected women is the only functioning economic rehabilitation programme of the state government. Yet, the women who have worked for more than 20 years without any break continue to be employed as casual workers and their work being the same are paid nearly one third of the salary of other workers in the government printing press. Rashida Bee presented judgments from the Labour Court and the Industrial Court that have directed the state government to regularise the jobs of gas affected women workers. She said that the state government has chosen to appeal against the decisions and continues to violate the rights of workers.

Rachna Dhingra from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action pointed out that the state government claims to have spent a total of over 60 crores on economic rehabilitation of the gas disaster survivors yet all it has to show for this money is a malfunctioning stationery production centre employing less that 100 women. She said that it was a BJP government that had closed down the sewing centres employing 2,300 gas affected women in 1992 though they were making a profit of Rs 1 crore per year.

Recounting the failures of the state government vis a vis the vocational training of survivors, Ms Dhingra said that the state government spent Rs. 11 crores on training thousands of young survivors in 16 trades. However, the government's training scheme failed to gain recognition for the National Certificate in Vocational Training and consequently thousands of survivors were denied jobs in BHEL and Railway Coach factory. Similarly, Rs. 8 crores spent on building 152 work sheds to employ 10, 000 victims have been totally squandered as not a single survivor has been employed in these.

The organisers of the ongoing dharna are demanding that the existing infrastructure for economic rehabilitation costing Rs. 23 crores should be put to use to provide much needed employment to the survivors who have lost their jobs due to the disaster. They presented an instance of environmentally friendly employment generation through the work of Chiraag Trust that has been renting out solar lamps to vegetable vendors. The leaders of the survivors' organisations said that the production of bags from old newspapers being carried out at the dharna site was yet another instance of environment friendly employment generation for survivors of the disaster.


Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215

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. 60, Near Cold Storage, Union Carbide Road, Chhola, Bhopal

Please visit www.bhopal.net for more information on the campaign for justice in Bhopal and www.studentsforbhopal.org to take action to support the survivors.

Posted by bhola at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)

Students gherao Tata building against Ratan’s offer to bail out Union Carbide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW DELHI, 2 March, 2007

More than 40 student supporters of the struggle for justice for Bhopal from Delhi colleges, and youth organizations including We For Bhopal and Tarunima, today protested against Ratan Tata in front of the Tata office in the crowded Connaught Place market. The students were outraged at Ratan Tata’s offer to lead a charitable clean-up of the toxic wastes abandoned by Union Carbide in Bhopal in order to clear Carbide’s liabilities and enable it and its new owner Dow Chemical to expand their businesses in India.

Union Carbide fled India after the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster abandoning thousands of tons of toxic wastes. It has failed to honour court summonses in the criminal case against it in Bhopal. As a result, it was declared an absconder in 1992. In 2001, Dow Chemical took over all of Carbide’s assets, but has failed to produce Union Carbide to face trial in India, and continues to refuse to take responsibility for cleaning up the toxic contamination. Because of these unresolved liabilities, Dow Chemical has put its Indian investment plans on hold. Ratan Tata’s offer will allow Union Carbide to go scot-free, and even allow the company to resume business in India.

Clean-up is the responsibility of the polluter, and the Government of India has demanded Rs. 100 crores from Dow for clean-up. “Ratan Tata's offer is a slap on the face of survivors of the worst chemical disaster in the world who have been pitched in a battle for justice against one of the largest chemical corporations. Tata's offer will let Dow off the hook and set a precedent where clean-up after contamination will not be mandatory but a matter of choice,” said Shalini Sharma, student coordinator of the campaign for justice in Bhopal. Incidentally, Ratan Tata is co-chairman of the US India CEO Forum, an elite group of corporate executives from India and the United States who are engaged in recommending wide-ranging policy changes to make India more friendly to investors.

Suroopa Mukherjee, advisor to the student-led We For Bhopal said, “A government-aided clean-up retains the possibility of recovering the money from Dow-Carbide depending on the outcome of the ongoing case in Madhya Pradesh High Court. However, Tata's offer of a "charitable" clean-up would make it impossible to pin liability and recover the costs from Dow-Carbide.”

A student protester emphasised that if Tatas were serious about their commitment to a clean environment, they would start by cleaning up the sites polluted by Tata Group companies – they have a lot to choose from – Mithapur in Gujarat, Patancheru in Andhra Pradesh, Sukhinda in Orissa, Jugsalai, Jamshedpur.

Students and supporters formed a human chain in front of the main Tata Service office and distributed a list of places polluted by Tata group of industries. They took signatures from people against this proposal and pledged to boycott careers in Tata group companies until Tata withdraws from Bhopal. The protesters were demanding a public withdrawal of the proposal and urged Mr. Tata to use his position to pressurize Dow to assume the liability of Bhopal. Mr. Sanjay Singh, Vice President, Tata Services spoke to a delegation of students and accepted the letter of demands on behalf of Mr. Ratan Tata.

Contact: Shalini Sharma - 9891442037 or Suroopa Mukherjee - 9818029882
Visit: www.bhopal.net and www.studentsforbhopal.org

Posted by bhola at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)

Bhopal survivors take the protest to Delhi

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Bhopal Group for Information and Action

March 1, 2007

PRESS STATEMENT

More than a year since 55 Bhopal survivors and their supporters walked 800 km from Bhopal to New Delhi, survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster are being forced to launch an indefinite fast starting 5 March, 2007 to get the State Government to implement their demands for environmental remediation, clean water, medical care and economic and social rehabilitation. Last April, after 17 days of dharna and 7 days of hunger strike, Bhopalis met the Prime Minister who refused action against the offending corporations but conceded to the demands for medical care and social, economic and environmental rehabilitation of the Bhopal survivors.

A special Coordination Committee on Bhopal was set up with the participation of survivor organisations, senior State officials and Central Government officials. The Committee has met two times during which the State Government agreed to several measures to provide long-awaited relief and rehabilitation to survivors. One year hence, no work has even commenced. Hundreds of survivors of the December 1984 disaster and residents from communities affected by groundwater r contaminated by Union Carbide's toxic wastes are currently on dharna ( sit-in) against the Madhya Pradesh Government since 20 February, 2007.

Addressing a press conference today in New Delhi , Rashida Bee a survivor of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal charged the Madhya Pradesh government with criminally obstructing medical care and rehabilitation of the survivors of the disaste. Mrs. Bee who received the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading the Bhopal survivors' 22 year long struggle said that hundreds of survivors in Bhopal are today on the 10th day of their dharna (sit in) against the Madhya Pradesh government. She said that the BJP government in the state continues to see the aftermath of the world's worst industrial disaster as a Muslim problem because of the relatively larger proportion of Muslims among the victims of Union Carbide.

Satinath Sarangi from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that today there are more than 100, 000 survivors suffering from chronic problems of multi-systemic origin such as breathlessness, diminished vision, loss of appetite, joint pains, body ache, early menopause, immune disorders, tingling and numbness in the limbs, panic attacks, anxiety and depression and a host of others. The children born to exposed parents have been found to have growth and development disorders and tuberculosis and cancers in the exposed population have been rising in the last several years.

According to Mr Sarangi who has been involved with research and relief efforts ever since the disaster, in addition to the people affected by Union Carbide's toxic gases, more than 25, 000 people suffer from the effects of chronic exposure to chemicals in groundwater that cause damage to the brain, lungs, liver, kidney and other organs and cause cancers and birth defects. More than 10 Governmental and non-Governmental studies confirm groundwater contamination due to the reckless dumping of hazardous chemical wastes by Union Carbide.

The Centre for Rehabilitation Studies of the Madhya Pradesh government has confirmed that unusually large number of people living in the communities next to the factory suffer from problems related to their routine exposure through contaminated water from local hand pumps. Tests carried out at IIT, Kanpur by the New Delhi based Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal showed the presence of toxic chemicals such as chloroform, chlorobenzenes and dichloromethane and heavy metals such as lead and mercury in the breast milk of mothers in these communities. In December 2006, doctors from New Delhi's St Stephens Hospital found an unusually high number of children with cerebral palsy in this population. The hospital has recently provided surgical treatment to six Bhopal children born with cleft lip and missing palate, a congenital deformity linked to chemical exposure.

Sarangi and Rashida said that at least 50,000 survivors are unable to earn a livelihood because of their exposure related sicknesses and the paltry compensation amounts people received was inadequate to pay for routine medical care expenses. They said that while the state government promised jobs to 10, 000 survivors not one has found gainful employment despite the expenditure of over Rs. 40 Crores. According to them thousands of families of survivors living below the poverty line, with no earning members (either due to sickness or death) and families with children born with congenital deformities are in dire need of social security.

According to Sarangi and Rashida, instead of providing the most basic means of survival to the ailing victims such as proper medical care and economic and social rehabilitation, the state government's sole response to the ongoing disaster has been to try to get the residents of the non-gas affected Hindu dominated parts of the city included among claimants for compensation. They said that there was no scientific, legal or moral basis for such inclusion yet that has been the only matter the BJP government has been active.

Sarangi and Rashida said that the Madhya Pradesh government was ignoring the Supreme Court of India's orders regarding supply of safe water to the people living in the contaminated areas and had not implemented any of the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee set up by the Supreme Court for overlooking the government health care system. They said that the indefinite hunger strike in Bhopal will continue till the state government gives in to the demands for proper medical care, gainful employment, social support and protection from Union Carbide's poisons.

Rashida Bee, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
093024 32298

Syed M Irfan
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
093290 26319

Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
098261 82226

Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
098261 67369

Bhopal contact : House No. 60, Risaldar Colony, Union Carbide Road, Bhopal 462 001

New Delhi contacts : Shalini Sharma: 9891442037, Suroopa Mukherjee: 9818029882

Please visit www.bhopal.net for latest information on the situation in Bhopal, and www.studentsforbhopal to take part in action to support the survivors.

Posted by bhola at 03:12 AM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2007

A letter of solidarity to the survivors in the dharna from Amnesty International, India

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, MARCH 1, 2007

To the members and supporters of:

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information & Action
Bhopal Ki Aawaaz

Amnesty International India (AI India) expresses its solidarity with the ongoing dharna at Bhopal by the survivors of the gas leak disaster from the Union Carbide plant in December 1984. AI India reiterates its support to their demands, including adequate health care and economic rehabilitation, supply of safe water and removal of hazardous waste from the plant site and surroundings.

The dharna has commenced on 20 February, the first anniversary of the 800 km long Bhopal-New Delhi march undertaken by 55 of the survivors last year. They had marched on foot to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and press demands for ensuring adequate relief and rehabilitation for all the survivors and those communities affected by contamination of groundwater.

AI India recalls that, during the march, AI Secretary-General Irene Khan, in an open letter to the Prime Minister, had expressed concern over the apathy of the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments in ensuring justice to the survivors. She had urged him to

>> take immediate steps to ensure regular supply of adequate safe water for the domestic use of the affected communities in line with the order issued by the Supreme Court; and
>> ensure the immediate clean up of the factory site in order to contain further damage to the ground water and environment.

It is a matter of concern, that despite the assurances given by the Prime Minister and the setting up of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal (CCB), there has been a clear lack of will to implement the CCB's decisions.

The Monitoring Committee for the Medical Rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas Victims, set up in 2004 under the Supreme Court, has reported on the miserable state of health care available for the survivors. The Committee's reports highlight the lack of specialists and doctors, standardized treatment protocols, quality medicines, diagnostic equipment and system of monitoring health status in the hospitals meant for gas leak disaster victims.

In this context, Amnesty International India urges the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments to:

–– take adequate steps to ensure health care to the survivors,

–– plan long-term economic rehabilitation, in consultation with the survivors, and

–– ensure immediate and consistent supply of safe drinking water and clean up of hazardous waste from the site.

Mukul Sharma
Director, Amnesty International India

--

Joe Athialy
Campaigns and Communication Coordinator
Amnesty International India

Email: jathialy@amnesty.org / joeathialy@gmail.com

Posted by bhola at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)