IBNLive, May 21, 2008
THE HUMAN CHAIN
Thirty-seven survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy were arrested when they chained themselves near Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence on Wednesday demanding that the Government address their grievances immediately. (Pic: AP)
WHERE’S THE KEY TO FREEDOM?
The police said the people chained themselves to the railings opposite the heavily-guarded Prime Minister’s House at 7, Race Course Road in the Capital. (Pic: AP)
DOWN WITH IT
Around 80 protesters, carrying white flags and banners bearing messages like “No more Bhopals”, lay on the road when the police tried to whisk them away in a bus. (Pic: AP)
COP-ING WITH TROUBLE
Police used chain cutters to free the protesters, then took them and their fellow activists away in vans to the nearest police station. However, they are likely to be released soon. (Pic: AP)
THE LONG WAIT FOR JUSTICE
Under the banner of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha and Bhopal Group for Information and Action, the protesters sought legal action against Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals, which own the Bhopal chemical plant, and demanded better rehabilitation of the Bhopal victims. (Pic: AP)
PAST TENSE IN BHOPAL
On the night of December 2-3, 1984, a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal spewed tonnes of poisonous methyl isocyanate gas, killing some 3,800 people instantly and many more later. Dow Chemicals later bought Union Carbide. The world’s worst industrial disaster also affected thousands, many of whom continue to suffer from various chronic diseases. (Pic: AP)
SURVIVORS’ TALE
Many of the survivors have been staging a protest in New Delhi for nearly two months. They had sought a meeting with the Prime Minister in January. An activist even wrote a letter to the Prime Minister using blood drawn from the Bhopal victims, seeking an hour of his time. Since then, 2,800 people from 18 countries have sent fax messages to the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking a meeting with Manmohan Singh. (Pic: AP)
THE APPEAL
NGOs working among the survivors have demanded a commission to execute social, economic and medical rehabilitation of the victims, environmental clean-up of the area and provision of clean drinking water for the residents of the area. (Pic: AP)
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