Press Statement                                       17 October 2011

 

At a press conference today five organizations of the survivors of December 84, Union Carbide disaster announced that they will hold a peaceful ‘Rail Roko’ (Stopping Trains) if their demand for ensuring adequate compensation to all victims of the disaster is not met within the next one month. The organizations who had organized a successful city wide bandh recently demanded that the central and state governments present correct figures of injury and death in the soon to be heard curative petition in the Supreme Court.

 

“The peaceful manner in which survivors of all walks of life came together for the ‘bandh’ is a testimony of the Bhopali’s collective spirit against injustice”, said Rashida Bee of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh. “We are very hopeful that the call for indefinite peaceful ‘Rail Roko’ will receive similar widespread response from the survivors of the disaster” she said.

The organizations presented copies of letters sent to the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Group of Minister on Bhopal in the last one year on the issue of wrongful denial of compensation to majority of the gas victims. “All we are asking is that the government presents figures of injury and death based on the report of the Indian Council of Medical Research on the health impacts of the disaster. These findings show that majority of gas victims are permanently and not temporarily injured and that the death toll of the disaster is about five times more than the official figures”, said Nawab Khan of the Bhopal  Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Morcha.

 

Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that they are giving the government one month’s time, which is more than sufficient time to review and rectify the figures of death and injury in the curative petition. He said that the organizations were well aware of the inconvenience that would be caused to ordinary people due to the indefinite rail roko and are inviting suggestions for other equally effective mass actions at # 9826167369. He however hopes that good sense will prevail upon the concerned state and central government officials so that rail roko was no longer necessary.

 

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha appealed to all survivors of the disaster who has not received adequate compensation to join the petitions to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister on this issue. The petition which will be submitted to the central and state governments in the next fifteen days has already been signed by over 10,000 survivors, he said.

Rashida Bi,Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh 94256 88215

Nawab Khan,Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha 9302792493

Balkrishna Namdeo,Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha 9826345423

Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,Bhopal Group for Information and Action 9826167369

Safreen KhanChildren Against Dow Carbide 9303831487

 

Contact: 44, Sant Kanwar Ram Nagar, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Web: www.bhopal.net

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