As the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster register their protest in Delhi and prepare for an indefinite hunger strike, Madras rises up to express solidarity and support. Bhopal is an imperative global issue and its future will determine the future of all such fights for justice world over.
We invite you to a photo exhibit and a film screening on the Bhopal Gas Disaster
Alliance Francaise
40/24, College Road, Chennai – 6
between 6 pm and 8.30 pm on Saturday, 8 April 2006
Special Invitees:
Padma Shri Chitra Visweswaran,
Ms. Anita Ratnam,
Padma Shri Ms. Malavika Sarukkai
Padma Shri Ms. Leela Samson
THE HISTORY:
On the midnight of December 3, 1984, 200 tonnes of lethal gas called Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide factory site in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. A heavy cloud of gas spread quickly from the pesticide factory, blanketing hundreds of thousands of its sleeping neighbors. In the immediate aftermath became sick or permanently disabled. Bhopal was (and remains) the worst industrial disaster in history. The fact that the Bhopal gas disaster could happen shocked the world. However, those who died in 1984 were neither the first casualties of this factory’s callousness nor, by any means, the last. Bhopalis continue to die, communities continue to suffer, and the abandoned UCC factory, to this day, continues to be a source of poisonous waste.
THE PRESENT:
On February 20, 2006, about 150 survivors of the 1984 Bhopal disaster began an 800 km march to New Delhi with the single aim of meeting the Prime Minister and resolving their six long-pending demands. The first demand of the marchers is the 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. The most urgent demand in the 6- point charter is the supply of piped water from Kolar reservoir to the 16 communities affected by toxic contamination of ground water by the waste leaking from the abandoned Union Carbide factory site.
On March 28th 2006 more than 150 survivors and supporters who were demonstrating peacefully outside the Ministry of Chemicals in Delhi which houses the Bhopal Cell were arrested by more than 200 police personnel accompanied by 50 riot police. After having resorted to all avenues, the survivors are currently doing a peaceful Dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and are still awaiting an appointment with the Prime Minister. They have declared that they would begin an indefinite hunger-strike on the 11th of April if their demands are not met.
For further information call:
Dharmesh – 9444416546, Shweta – 9444024315, Aniruddhan – 9884017695
Visit: www.bhopal.net for updates.
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