We held public meetings with the villagers. They reported a number of health effects from drinking the "donkey urine" water.

burning in eyes
stiffness in the limbs
panic attacks
burning in the stomach
skin diseases, rashes and itching
headaches
stomach ache
chest pain

The water is yellow or red in colour, leaves a yellow deposit on utensils, grass turns black, Trees have stopped bearing fruit, there is a foul smell from water, damage to crops around the factories.

The factories responsible are:

Vindhyachal Distilleries
Bhopal Gelatins
Ramteck Chemicals
Hind Spinners
Coca Cola

Contaminated land and water, near the Coca Cola factory

Population of Pillukhedi: 5000.
The populations of 4 villages have been affected by contaminated water, which is around 11,000
Sams: 1500
Gilakhedi: 3000
Pillukhedi: 50000
Bilehari:1500

(not clear what the above lines mean, will check and clarify

Pillukhedi became an industrial area around 20 years ago when the
Government of Madhya Pradesh acquired 320 acres of land from the
farmers. They acquired the land at Rs 25000/- per acre.

Vindhyachal Distilleries came to Pillukhedi around 15-17 years ago. They privately purchased about 20 acres of land from farmers.

Coca Cola came about 12 years ago and they acquired the land from the Special Development Authority set up by the MP government's Industrial Area Development Corporation.

All these factories draw water fromthe river Parvati. The effluent goes into a stream near Gilakhedi. Hundreds of people from neighbouring villages work in these factories.

Coca Cola paid Rs 3,00,000 - 4,00,000 for a "Pilukhedi dam".

Vindhyachal runs a clinic but doctors are only there once a year.
The water in the handpump was contaminated 10 years ago.

About 7 years ago government signs were put up stating "water is not fit for drinking." In the last 3 years the problem of contaminated water has become acute. People have to travel more than 2 km to get drinking water. MPCPB (Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board) also
conducted tests in these areas and found no contamination.

During our stay officials from Coca Cola called up local people checking on whether the Bhopalis were planning to protest against their company.

(Hint: Protest in a big way to Coca Cola about what they are doing in Pillukhedi and other places.)

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UPDATE FROM "ANOTHER BHOPAL"

23 February, 2006. Pillookhedi, MP -- Day 4 of the Padayatra
At long last, we heard from the marchers. Sathyu called from Pillukhedi, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, with breathtaking spreads of wheat fields, the gently flowing Parvati River, and smelly factories. Since they set off on February 20, they have been out of coverage of Reliance Infocomm's cell-phone networks. Reliance's revenge against activists from the longest-running anti-corporate campaign in India.

The 58 Padayatris who are currently on the road are in great spirits. The youngest participant is getting a ride the whole way. One-year old Karuna, fondly known as "Moti" or "the plump one," is the only child on the march. They start walking early in the morning, by about 4.30 a.m. and go on until 10 or so. They start again after a long rest at about 4 p.m. and go on for another four hours. The going has been tough, though, especially for those with health problems. It is likely to remain so for the next few days, after which the starting pains will disappear as the rhythms of walking assert themselves. They don't have a doctor with them yet. But last night, Biju (the ayurved masseur and therapist), Dr. Mrityun Jay (the ayurved doctor) and Anand, a community health researcher -- all from Sambhavna -- visited. Biju gave massage to 20 people in one evening, and Dr. Jay gave people medicines.

Pillookhedi is the site of four big factories -- a spinning mill, the Vindhyachal Distilleries, a Coca Cola factory and a gelatine factory. "Very few people speak up against Coca Cola. Those that do say Coke and the other factories have spoilt the groundwater. "One of the villagers who said he's a doctor -- I don't think he's really a doctor -- said that water samples from here showed high levels of fluoride. I think that is because of super extraction -- when large quantities of water are sucked from the ground at a very high rate, it tends to erode the fluorides from the sub-surface rock formations," says Sathyu.

The Bhopalis are at home here, in a sinister way. All the handpumps in the village have signs put up by the District Administration saying: "Water Unfit for Consumption." The water here is like "donkey urine," concur the villagers. It is yellow and smelly. It's been this way for three years, they say. While there is little overt resistance to pollution, all villagers speak out derisively about the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board. "Everybody says the Pollution Control Board officials come, take money and go. They're all corrupt," Just like Bhopal.

The distillery gives farmers the toxic sludge that remains after their effluents are treated to be used as fertiliser. Farmers say that it is ok for the first two years, but then the yield starts dropping.

The Bhopalis have been here since last evening. They are waiting for friends to arrive from Mehdiganj, near Varanasi, where villagers are waging a vociferous battle against a Coca Cola factory for sucking local aquifers dry. Last night, they screened "Bhopal Express" in the village. They talked about Bhopal, and about how to begin addressing the local problems of pollution. "We also told them about the Right to Information Act and how to use it in the local context. But these places need a lot more attention. We should see how we can do that," Sathyu notes.

It was noisy as hell when I called the second time. A loud loudspeaker was blaring in the background, and through all the noise I could make out only two stray words -- Bhopal and Calcutta. Must have been one of the Bhopalis introducing themselves. Joe Athialy and two other friends from Amnesty in Delhi had joined the march this morning. It's thanks to Joe's phone that we got our second update from Sathyu. None of the fancy mobile phone-to-internet business seems to have worked.

The villagers have given the Padayatris vegetables and buttermilk. So tonight there's Khaddi and Roti for dinner. Tonight is going to be special, it looks like. The ex-Sarpanch (village head) is also arranging for some milk, and if that comes, there will be Kheer as well. The cooking, needless to know, is reportedly awesome. People take turns. Yesterday, Chhoté Khan -- an imposing man with hennaed beard -- made the food, and it was excellent, they said. Chotte Khan is one of the long-distance runners in the justice struggle in Bhopal. In reminiscing during the mid-day breaks, he talked about how he was part of the massive demonstration against Union Carbide and Warren Anderson in December 1984, in the days after the disaster. His spirit is unflagging. Dow had better watch out.

Posted by bhola at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

Day 3: In Pillukhedi, water yellow as donkey's urine and an open-air screening of Bhopal Express

Wednesday 22nd February

TODAY'S THEME: HEALTH SURVEILLANCE, DOWNLOAD FACTSHEET HERE

The walk from Shyampur was not too tiring and we got to Pillukhedi around noon and cooked lunch.

This is a big village on the bank of the beautiful river Parvati.
Because of the water, an industrial estate was set up here and several factories have been built close to the village.

Everywhere, we found evidence of damage caused to the local environment and people by a distillery, a gelatin factory and most recently a Coca Cola factory.

Hand pumps lie unused or dismantled because the groundwater in the village is yellow and foul tasting (yellow as donkey's urine, say the villagers) and the spoiled water is not just in this village but in at least three others – Samaas, Geelakhedi and Bilehari.

We spoke to a local doctor who said there was too much fluoride in the water (possibly linked to over-extraction of ground water by Coca Cola and others). We will soon learn more, we have decided to spend another day in the village as Master Nand Lal from Mehendiganj near Varanasi, leader of the people's organisation against the Coca Cola factory there, will be arriving tomorrow.

When he is here, we will screen a film on Coca Cola and have master Nand Laal speak at a public meeting in the village.

Several people we met told us the Coca Cola company has paid off the pollution control board officials and has a history of buying off people when ever there's opposition.

In the evening we called all the villagers and screened Bhopal Express in the open air before an audience of more than 200 people. The projector worked really well.

Nethra Raghuraman and Kay Kay in Bhopal Express. Click here to watch it online right now and imagine yourself with the marchers and villagers under the stars in Pillukhedi.

We will stay here tonight also and will leave day after tomorrow for Kurawar.

Rachna adds: Because of the extra day in Pillukhedi for the solidarity action we are running one day behind schedule. I am sure we will make it up shortly. We will be sending a update later this evening. My phone has not been working and I've not been able to get an internet connection in most of these places.

Everyone is in great spirits.

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Posted by bhola at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

Day 2: Gandhi Nagar to Shyampur, and a delicious lunch of baatis

Tuesday 21st February

TODAY'S THEME: MEDICAL RESEARCH, DOWNLOAD FACTSHEET HERE

Next morning we could not leave Gandhi Nagar early as planned, because the local people organized a send off for us with even more garlands and a breakfast of jalebis and poha [sweet with flattened rice preparation].

We left at 7 am and reached a village called Sonkachh where we halted for lunch and a rest. Lunch was tasty baatis [wheat dough balls slow cooked over cow dung cake fire] with daal. They were made by a team of women.

We started walking again at 4 pm and along the way decided to walk to Shyampur instead of stopping at Duraha as we had planned. This proved to be a mistake as we had to walk well past sundown to reach Shyampur.

In fact Irfan bhai (Irfan brother) and three others got in at 9 pm.

The villagers in shaympur welcomed us and we were given the spacious village community hall to stay in. Everyone was too tired to cook or eat so we went off to sleep.

In the morning we were given a send off with cups of chai.

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Posted by bhola at 01:50 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

Day 1: from Bhopal to Gandhi Nagar. "We will fight, we will win!"

Monday 20th February

TODAY'S THEME: HEALTHCARE, DONWLOAD FACTSHEET HERE.

Monday, 20 February 2006

Just before noon hundreds of people gathered at the statue of the Mother & Child (the memorial opposite the abandoned Union Carbide factory) to see us padyatris (marchers) begin the long walk to Delhi. Many family members were crying as they hugged their loved ones and said goodbye.

The families of the padyatris were there to see them off

Several gas and contamination affected parents brought a group of very
young children with birth defects and growth abnormalities to give the
padyatris their good wishes and to give the march energy and
inspiration for the long and difficult journey ahead. It was for
them, the children were told, that we are marching -- for their health
and their future.

Several padyatris are currently ill, many are very old, most have
little with them but a pair of sandals and a few clothes, and every
one of them is embarking on the long walk at great personal risk and
sacrifice. The energy and excitement, however, was palpable.

Children watch as the marchers depart

We began our walk at 1 pm amidst lots of media attention, moving off at a slow pace while people crowded round us garlanding us with roses and marigolds and giving us sweets.

Slowly we moved all several of Bhopal's main thoroughfares before heading out of the city. Local and national media conducted many interviews and shot a lot of footage. Police presence was high but non-threatening.

Ganesh Prasad, 73 years old, is the oldest padyatri

All the padyatris were extremely spirited and energetic. "Ladenge!
Jeetenge!" the crowd shouted again and again -- "we will fight! we
will prevail!"

Just when we thought we could carry no more garlands, the women from the Stationery Workers trade union came into view. They were waiting at the bus stand crossing, and showered us with rose petals.

These women too were crying as they hugged Champa Devi. They had all walked to New Delhi in 1989 and knew what lay in store for their didi (elder sister). An account of the 1989 walk may be read here.

Shahazadi Bee, Champa didi, Nafeesa Bee, Kanchan Bai and other women leading the march chanted slogans:

pradhaan mantree ko bataana hai
paidal dilli janaa hai

if to the PM we're to talk
to Delhi we will have to walk

saaf paanee laana hai
paidal dilli jaanaa hai

if we want to get clean water
we'll have to walk to Delhi, daughter

kaatil ko sazaa dilaanaa hai
paidal dilli jaanaa hai

to force the killers to stand trial
we must walk to Delhi mile on mile

They kept this up all the way [5 kilometers] to the Collector's office where much ruckus was made. Our loudspeaker-truck [complete with big boards illustrating the six demands] cursed the collector and the MP government for not making any arrangements for drinking water and emergency medical care to accompany us.

We stopped at a small village called Shingarcholi for a late light lunch of aloo-puree [potatoes and fried bread]. The water in the village hand pump was cool and tasty.

By six, just as the sun was going down, we were at the Gandhi Nagar government school where the local people had organised a reception in the school grounds.

We were to sleep in the open ground under the night sky. We had done our first 13 kilometers and many were rather tired. In no time at all Chhoté Khan and Nafeesa Bee with help from four others prepared a splendid meal of rice and daal over a wood fire.

After dinner we had a meeting of the representatives chosen by the padyatris by common agreement. We talked about next day's schedule and many practical matters all of which got sorted in surprisingly short time.

Everyone slept under the stars. We woke at about 4 am to get a head start on the day and beat the sun, and local people cooked breakfast for everyone. Today's walk will be much longer -- it is 30 kilometers to Duraha, the next town on the route of the padyatra.

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Posted by bhola at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

The padyatris (marchers) muster for the journey, with apologies from those who could not join them

There are 54 of us padyatris, aged between 1 and 73 years.

51 of us (20 female and 31 male) are victims of Union Carbide's factory,. Some are survivors of the night of terror in 1984, others are affected by water poisoned by chemicals leaking from the factory. Some of us are both gas- and water-affected.

With us are three Bhopal-based activists, Vikas Tripathy from Greenpeace, and Rachna and Sathyu of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, plus Maude, a phoographer from the USA and Daniel Gosling, a video artiste from the UK.

A little over 100 people had shown willingness to join the padyatra but as the day for the actual setting off drew near about half dropped out. For many it was a question of livelihood. People like Mr. Nusrat Ali from Annu Nagar, Mrs Leela Thakur and Mr. Mohammed Salim from Blue Moon Colony are breadwinners and were not able to arrange for the money their families would need while they were away.

Some like Mrs.Tulsa Bai and Mrs Ayesha Bee from Blue Moon Colony fell sick and could not join, Mrs. Suman Bai could not come because her husband became ill and Mrs Kunti Bai was unable to join us as she has an eye operation scheduled for March 12.

A few realized that if they went on the march they would be away from home during the Hindu festival of colours, 'holi', which falls this year on March 15.

One of our most active organizers Hazra Bee unfortunately fell from the motorcycle her son was driving two days before we left and is currently in bed with a back injury.

Shahid Noor, president of the orphan's organization Bhopal ki Aawaaz underwent an operation for a testicular infection and was in hospital when we left, although he came to see us off.

Others will join us along the route. Mr Naseer from Nawab Colony had to take care of his buffaloes so he joined us in Sonkachh. Also Mr Tulasiram joined us in Gandhi Nagar. Rashida bee who has just come back from her Haj to Mecca will join us after five days with ten others.

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Posted by bhola at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

The long walk of the Bhopali women: the 1989 march that inspired today's Padyatra

33 DAYS ON FOOT FROM BHOPAL TO DELHI IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE

"Prepared and yet, unprepared..."

In the summer of 1989 a group of gas-affected women from Bhopal undertook the heroic task of a padayatra [a protest march on foot] from Bhopal to New Delhi. They had no idea how far away Delhi was or in which direction it lay. They just knew they had to go there and present their problems to the Prime Minister. Having no money for train or bus fares, they decided to walk, but being entirely innocent of PR skills, did not think to inform either the press or the Prime Minister. Journalists found out for themselves, and as a result there are a very few pictures of that extraordinary achievement.

Today, 17 years later, for most of the women, the experience is just a blur. The steady walk along miles and miles of endless road is a distinct memory but little 'wayside stories' were mostly forgotten. In fact they were probably forgotten at the end of each long day, in the exhausted sleep that overtook the walkers when they stopped to rest. There were a few women, however, mostly the 'leaders' of the group who remembered an incident here and there, and the names of places that they stopped at.

This is the gritty story of 75 women, their 30 children and 12 men - all affected by the gas leak from Union Carbide plant - who decided that for their voices to be heard, they needed to take themselves to a 'higher centre of power', where they might have a better chance of being heard. So, in May 1989, finding the Government of Madhya Pradesh unresponsive to demands that promises made to them should be kept, the women decided that they should seek justice in New Delhi, by presenting their case to none other than the Prime Minister of India. This they would do, by walking the long distance from Bhopal to Delhi.

"Whenever we announced or stated something, we never went back on our word - everybody knows it by now", says Rashida Bee, the President of Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh. True enough, belying the press reports which predicted that "looking at the physical condition of the women, it is very doubtful that they will be able to cover the distance on foot", the women achieved what they set out to do - they got their jobs in the press regularised and their salaries increased.

This hitherto unchronicled effort of the gas-affected women was a turning point in the lives of many of them, and is important to remember, record and appreciate.

The beginnings of the women's struggle for their rights

A couple of years after the gas disaster, the government, as part of its rehabilitation work, decided to train some women from the bastis in a printing press. When the government announced its plans, there were numerous women who said that this was not for them - even if they did get trained, the printing presses were too far away from their residential colonies and the effort of travel was not worth it: they were content with what they were doing - mostly beedi-making.

Around 100 women took up the offer - they were trained for four months with a stipend of Rs 150/ per person per month. It was hard to make ends meet. After the training was over, the women realised that no jobs were planned for them by the government. They might as well have been trained as astronauts. But the politicians replied that they should be grateful to have received any training at all. If they wanted to put it into practise there would be no government help for them. "Start your own press", was the advice from on high.

The women responded that without any firm printing orders, or infrastructural support, they would not be able to use their new skills. They also felt that they needed more training.

The women, represented by Rashida Bee and Champa Devi, put their demands to the government through a personal petition to the Chief Minister. They were assured that they would be employed in the stationery undertaking of the Rajya Udyog Nigam [Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Corporation Limited]. It was not explained to them that this would be on a piece rate basis, and that they would be paid only if the corporation's bosses chose to give them work from day to day.

After a month of waiting every morning outside the gates of the undertaking, the women were given just two days' work - and the payment came to around Rs 6 - 12 per person, (approximately £0.08 or $0.12), not a very good return for a whole month.

This infuriated the women. They argued to civil servants and corporation bosses that it was hardly their fault that they had not been given employment, when they waited outside the office, day after day. When the women threatened to take direct political action, the officials relented and began giving them more work. For the next two and a half years the women would earn an average 10 - 12 rupees per day. (£0.12 or $0.17)

During the same period, the press made a profit of 400,000 rupees. The women realised that this was happening at their expense - they were grossly underpaid and the profits were not being shared with them. Around this time, a few of them learned of the Factories Act and the Minimum Wages Act and decided to press for their rights: minimum wages and the regularisation of their employment. The management offered a deal which would give them more work with a marginal increase in wages, but the women would have none of it. They were adamant that they wanted the law to be applied and enforced in full.

They began a dharna (sit in) at Vallabh Bhavan - they sat and slept there for several days. There were rallies, meetings, rasta rokos (road blocks) and other forms of protest [a march in the night with torches, for example]. Then the women got wind of the fact that the Chief Minister was canvassing in Kharasia for an election, and issued a press statement saying that half of them would go to Kharasia and start canvassing against him, while the other half would continue the protest at the Bhopal Secretariat.

When this news reached the Chief Minister. He immediately instructed his officials to meet the women's demands - the Factories Act was implemented by registering the MPSIC Press under the Act, and the salaries fixed at 535/ rupees per person. But the women had their sights set on full justice - for skilled workers like them, the law provides for a salary upto Rs 2700/- per month. Their vision was set on securing this. "But we did not know what exactly to ask for, other than these two demands. If the dharna at the Vallabh Bhavan had been clearer in its set of demands, we would not have had to undertake the padayatra at all", explains Rashida Bee, looking back at that time. "We had no idea of what posts to ask for, what roles or what designations for ourselves - we were just happy that they removed us from a piece rate system, and put us on a fixed salary". Now, the idea was to get their jobs regularised and salaries increased as per the rates fixed for skilled workers.

Thus began their long struggle through the summer of 1989, which took the shape of a padayatra in June that year.

"We have to go to Delhi...."

The idea came suddenly, out of nowhere. The dharna in front of Vallabh Bhavan in Bhopal was creating some ripples, but not the desired effect. The demands of the women were not being met. One day, Rashida Bee hit upon a thought: they all needed to go to Delhi - that was the only place where they might be heard. And they should walk the whole distance, so that their effort would be visible.

The rest of the women in the sanghatan (union) agreed readily enough. "Whatever baaji suggests, we are ready for that - we trust her completely. Even our men folk do not object when we are with her and are doing things as per her advice", the women explained. Despite their unpreparedness regarding the journey [the details of the distance, the route, the practical needs and problems etc], the women did something very intelligent. They warned the Chief Minister, through the media, that they would be undertaking this campaign for justice from the 1st of June, 1989, and that if something happened to any of the women enroute,it would be the responsibility of the Chief Minister, since he had driven them to it!

This warning had the Chief Minister taking serious notice of the intentions of the women. He tried dissuading the women from undertaking this journey. When this did not work, he arranged for a medical team to accompany the women, a police team for their protection and a water tanker to go along with them. These turned out to be a great support, as the days passed.

"We were ahead, and the rains behind us..."

"Even the gods cooperated with us - all the while that we walked, the rains were either before us, or behind us - we were never lashed by the rains!", recounts Rasheeda Bee.

They set out in the month of June, the month in which the monsoon sets in. The women set out not knowing how far away Delhi was, where the route lay, how long it would take them to get there [since they had as yet no idea of what distance they would be able to walk each day]. Nor did they have any inkling of what difficulties lay ahead, what they were going to eat or where they were going to sleep - or how they could meet the Prime Minister of this large country or how to publicise their cause! All that they knew was that they had set out to do something, and achieve it they would.

Many of the women set out on the trip with their children. There were a few men who accompanied the women. In each district, they were accompanied by the local medical personnel and police, uptil the end of the district, before another team took over. "We saw the world in all its colors during that period," Rasheeda Bee recollects. "We faced love and affection from unknown people, we faced rejection, we received support at times, we faced hardships, we bonded more strongly amongst ourselves, we experienced a strong sense of solidarity. Most importantly, the women would assure me from time to time, especially when I was feeling completely down and depressed - they would tell me that I should go on till I reached Delhi, even if some of them dropped dead from exhaustion. This gave me tremendous strength to move forward." And some of the women, who are 12 years older now, told me that one thought was always inspiring during that period - "If Gandhiji could do it at his age, why can't we?"

"We saw the world in all its colours during that period...."

When the women set out, for the first few days they could cover only 8 - 10 kilometres a day. As the days progressed, the pace increased and stabilised. They soon reached a stage where they were walking around 35 to 40 kilometres each day, children and all. They were also carrying small sacks with a few essentials thrown in - a blanket and a bed spread each, and a pair of clothes.

Many did not have more than thirty to forty rupees with them when they set out. Some of them pawned a few ornaments along the way to get some cash. And before long, this little cash would be spent on medicines or food for the children. Genda Bai once found a five rupee note that somebody lost on the road... it was a great saviour - with that money, she bought her son medicines that lasted for around a week.

The food they packed when they left Bhopal lasted just one day. At the end of the first day, the women found themselves begging in the village where they had decided to rest for the night. Later in the trip, on some days they would be given cooked food. At other times people donated the materials, and the women found themselves cooking dinner on open stoves at the end of a long day.

Sometimes, when they went begging, they would be reprimanded - "you seem healthy and capable - can't you work and earn some food, rather than beg like this?"

There were also times when people would respond with cynicism; "you would all have received good compensation from the government after the disaster - why are you still chasing more demands?"

They often found themselves getting up very early - at around 3 am - and setting out so as to escape the cruel sun. When the footwear no longer withstood the constant walking, some of the women continued the padayatra with leaves tied to the soles of their feet. There would be times when the local people, to show their support, would accompany them for some distance along the way.

One night, when they could not find anywhere to sleep, they lay down by the side of the road - an open dormitory under the starry sky, while the occasional truck roared by. Three or four women lay awake all night to watch out for the sleeping women. In the harsh morning light, the discovery of what had laid in store for them shocked and dismayed them - dead scorpions and snakes killed by the passing vehicles! There would have been many more which must have passed among the women, but fortunately nothing untoward happened to anyone.

Help and rebuffs

Sometimes, local police would feed the women. They would be lodged in government rest houses with a few security guards posted outside for their protection. They once came upon a place called 'moti quarters' where the accompanying security personnel advised them not to leave the rest house in the night - they had not cooked dinner and the police would not allow anyone to go outside! "It was a terrible night - children were crying of hunger and troubling their mothers - none of us could sleep - as soon as dawn broke, we all rushed out, and the local hoteliers were kind enough to give fresh glasses of milk to the children. That was when the crying stopped".

All along the way, people would stop by and question the padayatris - "why are you doing this?" The women would take time to explain their cause and move on. When the women walked, they would do so in smaller groups - the ones who could walk faster would obviously be outstripping the others, and to show the way to the others, they would leave pounded rice on the road. The groups behind would trace their way along the same route, based on these signs that the other women had left. In the evenings, the ones who went ahead would usually scout around for a place for the group to rest during the night.

When they approached the Chambal ravines, people started warning the women about the notorious 'killer' dacoit gangs that haunted them. The women were unruffled. They were sure that the dacoits would only support their cause and not trouble them. Even the local police official told them so - he assured them that the dacoits would not come anywhere near the group. And to lend his support, he walked alongside the women along with his men, for a distance of 40 kms. At the boundary of the district, when he had to hand over his duty, this police official was in tears at the prospect of parting with this brave group of women. He told them, "if I had the required powers, I would have agreed to all your demands long back and saved you from this trouble".

As soon as they entered Rajasthan [Dholpur area], the women received the worst treatment yet in store for them - the Commissioner, the police, the local Parliamentarian - everyone that the women approached there refused to support them. "Who asked you to set out on a task like this?", they demanded. There was nothing to eat, no place to sleep, not even to rest. This was the lowest point in the entire journey for the women. But their determination only strengthened.

It was also time for the women to experience the best sides of communal and caste harmony. Their local hosts treated them without any discrimination related to caste or religion creeping in. Similarly, within the group, any such differences melted away completely - they would all cook together, eat together, sleep together and share all the troubles together. The women began bonding very firmly with each other.

"We are all one!"

In Guna, the group was about to decide to spend the night in a mandir [a Hindu temple]. It was then that some of them noticed sign boards which said that Muslims were not allowed inside. It planted a sense of apprehension in the minds of all the Muslims in the group ... where would they go tonight, if they are not allowed in?

Suddenly, some of them began shouting slogans: "hum sab ek hain" - "we are all one, we are united". Soon, they had the head priest of the temple joining them in the slogan-shouting, and then, he cordially invited everyone to spend the night in the temple. "That was one of the best places that we stayed in throughout the trip", recalls a muslim woman. "We were fed excellent food, and inside the temple there were numerous rooms and we could sleep very comfortably that night". One of the women distinctly recollects the taste of the louki ka kheer that they were fed there.

In Gwalior, some local political leaders gave the women groceries to last them for a few days. This, this stocked in the vans accompanying them and the next few days passed by relatively peacefully. Sometimes the local media covered the padayatra - mostly they were ignored. The women had no idea whatever about how to seek out the media. Through what coverage they did get, a few labour unions and political parties expressed their support for the women's demands.

Not one of them said "Let's go back". Soon after the arduous march began, several women and children had boils on their feet. They would treat them with some herbs that they found on the way, and walk on.

Health problems

There were times when they were so exhausted at the end of the day that they had no energy to cook or eat. But they would force themselves to eat, and feed others. "Otherwise, how can we walk on the next morning?". The accompanying doctors would sometimes hand out vitamin pills to boost their energy levels.

Around the 23rd of June, gastro-enteritis struck many of the padayatris and about 35 of them had to be hospitalised. But the group moved on soon after. During these 33 days, the women who were menstruating were the worst sufferers... women use folded cotton cloth as padding during this time [clothes were packed beforehand in a sack, to be used as sanitary napkins and these would be distributed around to whoever needed them], and walking with the cloth on created rashes on the tender skin of the upper thighs for these women. Walking became extremely painful thereafter, but they kept on.

Yashoda, who was five months' pregnant, faced a painful personal loss. The strain of the walk caused her to lose the twin babies in her womb soon after the group reached Agra.

And then there was Abeeda who would faint every few kilometres. She was healthy enough when they set off, and held up for around ten days. And then, the fainting bouts began. She would just fall backwards when each such spell hit her. The other women would spend some time reviving her and then move on. Gendabai remembers that her seven-year-old son Rajendar was very sick during the journey. His head would reel and his legs would give way under him.

In Dholpur, where the local administration as well as communities were hostile to the padayatris, the police accompanying them offered to take the women in their vans and quickly get them out of the district. The women rejected this idea. They insisted that they would walk, because that is what they had set out to do - while the headlights of the van pierced the darkness of the night and showed them the way, the women trudged along throughout the night.

In spite of all of these hardships, the group of women kept walking towards Delhi. Not once did even one of them say "enough, let's go back". They told themselves "ab nikal pade tho nikal pade hain. Dilli to pahunchna hai aur pradhaan mantri se milna hai" [We have set out now and there's no going back - we somehow have to reach Delhi and meet the Prime Minister].

The entry into the rajdhani (capital city)

After traversing twelve districts in four states in 33 days, the women finally reached Delhi.

They were utterly exhausted and there was little comfort in having reached the destination since it soon became clear that their travails were not over. They did not know where the India Gate was, nor how to meet the PM.

"We did not know how to announce that we had reached!", confessed the women. When they tried contacting Rajiv Gandhi, they were told that he was not in town - that he reserved the weekends to meet his family, and from that Monday onwards, he would be travelling abroad for ten days. The women found themselves in a quandary - should they wait for him to return? They had no food, no money and nowhere to stay. And whereas during their long journey through the countryside, many villagers had supported them, Delhi was cold. Nobody came forward to help them. Moreover, many people warned them that in a few days' time the monsoon rains would begin in earnest, a bad time to be without shelter. As it was, the women were camped onthe open lawns of India Gate. They had nowhere else to go.

Misled with false promises

Delhi was indifferent to them. No one would give them an audience. Devilal, a prominent politician [once a Deputy PM], who was passing by India Gate, stopped his car to find out from the women what the issue was. He listened to their story. He said that although he could not help meet their demands, he gave them Rs 2000/- (£25, $40) to help keep them fed during their stay in Delhi.

Next they met Suresh Pachouri, the MP from their own state, who convinced the women that they should now go back to Bhopal. He assured them that once they got back matters would be resolved and promised personally to take care of their case and get their demands met. With this assurance, the women decided to return home. The promises were not kept.

Today, this group of women is still together. Although they feel that they should not have come back empty-handed, they know that this padayatra bonded them into a determined and gritty group. Some time after the long walk, many government-supported centres were closed. "1300 women in other centres were displaced. Our centre was not closed. That is because the government is afraid of us," the women claim.

The women did in the end get their audience with Rajiv Gandhi. He was visiting Bhopal, addressing a public meeting. The women forced their way in, despite attempts by the police to stop them. "Having walked all the way to Delhi to meet Rajiv Gandhi, we weren't going to let a few police wallahs stand inour way." They interrupted the meeting and told the Prime Minister their grievances and their story.

Rajiv Gandhi apologised for the fact that they had not been able to meet him in Delhi, after such an arduous journey - "I did not even know that you had come all the way from Bhopal on foot to meet me. Nobody told me. If I had known, I would have come to meet you at India Gate myself". This in itself was a great consolation for the women.

Today, the women earn salaries of around Rs 2000/- each, on a fixed basis in the press.

They are still going strong - when they decide to do something together, they believe that no force on earth can stop them.

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Posted by bhola at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)

Padyatris prepare to set out

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

February 17, 2006

Survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal and people poisoned by ground water contamination from the pesticide factory that caused the world's worst industrial disaster on December 3, 1984 will start their Bhopal to New Delhi Padyatra (march on foot) on February 20, 2006.

Over 100 Padyatris will start walking "to the office of the Prime Minister at Raisina Hill, New Delhi" from the Union Carbide factory at 11 AM on Monday. They have already hand delivered the information on the 800 kilometers long march to the offices of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh along with their six-point charter of demands.

The four survivors' organizations are seeking the Prime Minister's personal intervention in ensuring "justice and a life of dignity for the people poisoned by Union Carbide and its current owner Dow Chemical".

Their demands include immediate supply of safe water to the communities with ground water contamination, speedy prosecution of Union Carbide Corporation and its officials and blacklisting of Dow Chemical till it pays for environmental and health damages caused due to reckless dumping of hazardous wastes.

The organisations : Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal ki Aawaaz and Bhopal Group for Information and Action also demand the setting up of a "National Commission on Bhopal" for long term medical care, research and economic and social rehabilitation of the victims. They demand that the disaster in Bhopal must be made part of educational curricula and the creation of a memorial to the disaster with full participation of the victims.

A team of supporters in New Delhi will be communicating the demands of the Padyatris to the Director of the Bhopal cell in the Ministry of Chemicals on a daily basis. Supporters in other parts of the country will organize rallies and signature petitions to the Prime Minister. Members of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal will hold demonstrations at Indian embassies in USA and other countries in support of the campaign.

The ICJB's campaign web site www.bhopal.net is providing communication support to the marchers who will be updating blogs on a daily basis.

With their ages ranging from 19 to 70 years, the Padyatris are from gas affected areas such as Jai Prakash Nagar and Risaldar Colony as well as from areas that are affected by contamination of ground water such as Shiv Shakti Nagar and Blue Moon Colony. Their five week long journey will take them through Guna, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Dholpur Agra, Mathura, Ballabhgarh and other towns and villages in four states.

Walking between 25 and 35 kilometers every day, the Padyatris will depend on villagers and townspeople for food and shelter. They will exhibit posters, screen films and address public meetings along the way to create awareness about industrial pollution, corporate accountability and other issues of the Bhopal campaign. The four organizations today made an appeal to the people of Bhopal for financial and material support to the Padyatris and requested persons from the media to join in the march.

Rashida Bee, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
+91 93031 32959

Syed M Irfan
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
+91 93290 26319

Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
+91 98261 82226

Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra
Bhopal Group for Information & Action
+91 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 to New Delhi Padyatra please bookmark www.bhopal.net/march/

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Posted by bhola at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

Support the Bhopal marchers: a message to Amnesty members around the world from Amnesty India

Dear Member,

Greetings from Amnesty International India!

On the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal owned by the US based multinational Union Carbide Corporation which killed more than 7000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more within 2-3 days. In the last 20 years, at least 15,000 more people have died and more than 100,000 suffer from chronic illness related to gas exposure.

The disaster raised fundamental questions about government and corporate responsibility. Yet 21 years later, the survivors await not just compensation, adequate medical assistance & treatment, and comprehensive economic and social rehabilitation but justice. The plant site has not been cleaned up. As a result, toxic wastes continue to pollute the environment and contaminate water that surrounding communities rely on. And, astonishingly, no one has been held to account for the leak and its appalling consequences.

This gas leak had a human rights impact. It killed many and left many with health problems. The concerned governments and the international community must ensure that victims of human rights violations have effective access to justice and effective redress for the harm suffered without discrimination and regardless of whether those responsible for the violation are governments or corporations

Amnesty International India supports this cause. AI India had issued a
report on Bhopal disaster (The report ‘Clouds of Injustice: Bhopal disaster 20 Years on’ may be downloaded from
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/ec-bhopal-eng) in November 2004 and also put forward recommendations to the governments of India & Madhya Pradesh, US government, UN Commission on Human Rights and DOW Chemical Company.

Amnesty International is:

· Urging people around the world to put pressure on Dow and the Indian
Government demanding that the site is cleaned up and affected communities are compensated.
· calling on the Indian Government to promptly assess the damage to health and the environment caused by the leak and the contamination
· Recommending the implementation of a global human rights framework for business, based on the UN Norms for Business. To hold companies accountable and guarantee redress for the victims it is imperative that such standards are implemented and mechanism to enforce them are put in place.

THE LONG MARCH TO DELHI

On 20 February 2006, around 150 Bhopal survivors will begin a march on foot from Bhopal to New Delhi (900 km) which will last for approximately 5 weeks. The march will be led by four Bhopal-based organisations: The Bhopal Group for Information and Action, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha and Bhopal ki Aawaaz.

The marchers will seek a meeting with the Prime Minister when they reach New Delhi and present him with a series of demands (Appended).

As a part of the campaign, Amnesty International sections worldwide will be holding simultaneous marches. AI International Secretariat is appealing to members around the globe to hold parallel marches in solidarity with the one going on in India and to submit petitions to the India Embassies of their countries.

While AI members worldwide are engaged in supportive actions, it is
imperative that AI India be active in our support and solidarity. We
request our members to join the march for solidarity. As a member of AI India you can show solidarity by

· Joining the march for any stretch.
· Holding different programs in your town / city to support the demands of people.
· Campaign by getting signatures on a petition to the Prime Minister and faxing appeals to GoI (Fax No. 011-23743857)
· Submit memorandum to the Governors of your state.

Please do not forget to keep us informed about the programs that you carry out. We would appreciate receiving reports and photographs about the action/s that you have done.

Seeking best support from all of you!

Best Regards

Suresh K T
Program Manager

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Posted by bhola at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2006

Bhopal survivors to march on Delhi

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

January 31, 2006
PRESS STATEMENT

150 survivors of the December ’84 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal will march on foot to New Delhi from February 20, 2006 demanding justice and a life of dignity for the people poisoned by American multinational Union Carbide Corporation. The march led by four Bhopal based organizations will also include people affected by ground water contamination from Union Carbide’s abandoned factory in Bhopal.

The Bhopal marchers expect to reach New Delhi in the last week of March when they have sought a meeting with the Prime Minister. Depending on the response of the central government the marchers may decide to go on an indefinite fast at the end of their 900 kilometer long march. The four organizations : Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal ki Aawaaz have a six-point charter of demands to present to the Prime Minister.

The first demand of the marchers is that of setting up of a National Commission on Bhopal with the necessary authority and funds to provide facilities for health care, economic rehabilitation, medical research and social support. They are calling for active participation of non-government doctors and scientists and representatives of survivors’ organization in the National Commission that they say should function for at least the next thirty years. The most urgent demand in their 6- point charter is the supply of piped water from Kolar reservoir in the 16 communities affected by toxic contamination of ground water.

In their meeting with the Prime Minister the marchers will demand the setting up of a Special Cell in the Central Investigation Bureau for speedy prosecution of Union Carbide Corporation, Warren Anderson and other absconding accused in the criminal case on the December ’84 disaster. They will also call upon the central government to ensure scientific assessment of the depth and spread of toxic contamination and make Union Carbide’s current owner The Dow Chemical Company pay compensation for the health and environmental damage caused due to reckless dumping of chemical wastes.

The Bhopal marchers are demanding that the goverment:

1. Set up a National Commission on Bhopal with the necessary authority and funds to provide facilities for health care, medical research, social support and economic rehabilitation of the people poisoned by Union Carbide/Dow Chemical and their children at least for next 30 years. This commission must have active participation of non government doctors, scientists and representatives of survivor's organizations.

2. Commit full funds for and agree to a time-bound plan for delivery of piped Kolar reservoir water to communities affected by Union Carbide/Dow's contamination.

3. Set up a Special Prosecution Cell in the Central Investigation Bureau with representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs for speedy prosecution of Union Carbide Corporation, Warren Anderson and other accused in the criminal case of the December '84 disaster.

4. Ensure scientific assessment of the depth and spread of toxic contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal and make Union Carbide's current owner The Dow Chemical Company pay for the clean up of toxic contamination and compensation for the health and environmental damage caused due to reckless dumping of chemical wastes.

5. Stop government purchase of Dursban and other Dow products and halt any expansion of Dow's business in India till it accepts the pending liabilities of Bhopal .

6. Include representatives of survivors organizations in the creation of a memorial to the disaster, declare December 3 rd as a National Day of Mourning for Victims of Industrial Disasters and Pollution and ensure that the Bhopal disaster and its aftermath is included school and college curricula.

New Delhi based supporters of the Bhopal survivors will convey the demands of the marchers to the Central government on a daily basis. Nationwide supporters of the Bhopal campaign will organize rallies, meetings and signature campaigns in solidarity with the Delhi Padyatra. International supporters in USA, Europe, Japan and other countries will take part in fax actions and demonstrations before Indian embassies abroad.

The route for the Delhi Padyatra has been chalked out with a view to making connections with other pollution impacted communities along the way. The marchers will organize poster exhibitions, film screenings and public meetings to make people aware of the need for justice in Bhopal for prevention of corporate crime everywhere.


Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
+91 755 93031 32959

Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
+91 755 93290 26319

Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
+91 755 98261 82226

Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
+91 755 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

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Posted by bhola at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)