Tag Archives: Indian Supreme Court

ICJB Press Releases, Statements, Letters

Bhopal roads blocked for clean water

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Tired of waiting for the government of Madhya Pradesh to obey a five-month-old Supreme Court order to supply clean water to contaminated areas, communities bearing the brunt of Carbide’s water poisoning today forced the issue with a blockade of two of Bhopal’s main roads. The action follows recent meetings with Babulal Gaur, then Minister for Gas Relief but now Chief Minister, and a 2,000 strong demonstration outside the Chief Minister’s residence in July that have not yet generated action from pitiless local officials. Friends in Bhopal explain that the MP government is blatantly lying to the Supreme Court over the amount of clean water being piped into communities that are otherwise forced to drink cancer causing chemicals. More direct actions are planned if this criminal neglect doesn’t end immediately.

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

September 28, 2004 press statement

Leaders of four organizations active on the issues of the December ’84 Union Carbide disaster today announced that they would block traffic [“Chakka Jaam”] tomorrow on September 29, calling for immediate laying down of pipe lines for safe drinking water to the residents of the communities affected by ground water contamination. Two of the main roads entering the city would be blocked by residents of the 14 communities in the vicinity of Union Carbide’s factory and hazardous landfill the two sources of the contamination.

It has been almost five months since the Supreme Court of India directed the State Government to supply safe drinking water to the affected communities. Mrs. Rashida Bee, President, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh alleged that the state government is brazenly lying to the Supreme Court on this matter and is forcing people to consume water laced with cancer causing chemicals. She said that abdominal pain, giddiness, anemia, growth retardation among children, birth defects, skin disorders are commonly occurring health consequences of contaminated water among the 20,000 residents who are forced to use water from local hand pumps.

Shahid Noor of Bhopal ki Awaz pointed out that the affidavit submitted in response to the May 7, 2004 directive of the Supreme Court contains deliberate misinformation on the supply of water. While the government has claimed to be supplying 360, 000 litres of water per day through tankers and pipeline, according to Mr. Noor, the actual supply of water was little over 42, 000 litres per day in August dropping from 89, 000 litres in July this year.

Mr. Syed M Irfan, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, said that the blocking of road traffic will be the first of a series of direct action by the people of the affected communities. Mothers concerned and angry about the damaging effect of the poisons known to be present in their breast milk on their babies would be at the front line of these actions, he said.

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

Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha

Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Awaz

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

Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal Tel: 3132298
B-2 / 302, Sheetal Nagar, Berasia Road, Bhopal. Tel: 9826167369

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ICJB Victories

Survivors celebrate Supreme Court victory

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Organisations working with the survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster held a celebratory party for S Muralidhar, the survivors’ lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.

As counsel for Mrs Rashida Bee, Mrs Champa Devi Shukla and 34 other victims of Carbide’s gases, Muralidhar had moved a Writ arguing that undistributed compensation money held without explanation in the Reserve Bank of India for the last 15 years should be distributed among the 500,000 plus survivors. On July 19, 2004 the Supreme Court directed that the monies, amounting to Rs. 1,503 crores (€266 million, £180 million, US$324 million) belonged to the gas victims and should be given to them. Divided between more than half a million people, this isn’t Eldorado, in many cases it will not cover what people have spent on medicines, but it is nonetheless a great victory and was celebrated as such in the bastis and bidonvilles of Bhopal.

At the party, held in Chhola Naka near the Union Carbide factory, hundreds of gas victims garlanded Mr. Muralidhar amidst the sound of drums, cheering and clapping. Mr. Muralidhar in his speech advised the gas victims to deposit the money they receive in accounts in post offices. He cautioned the people not to give in to officials who might demand bribes and to put the money towards long term benefits. He assured that he would continue to fight for the rights of the gas victims. Mrs Rashida Bee and Mrs Champa Devi thanked Mr. Muralidhar on behalf of the residents of the 36 gas affected wards.<br
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Syed M Irfan, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Shahid Noor, Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra, Bhopal Group for Information and Action

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ICJB Victories

Supreme Court orders unpaid compensation money to be given to survivors: celebrations in Bhopal, gloom in Midland, Michigan

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19 July, 2004, Bhopal In a major victory for the Bhopal survivors, the Supreme Court today ordered the Government of India to distribute the balance of compensation remaining from Union Carbide’s settlement among the 566,876 Bhopal survivors whose claims have been successfully settled. The balance of the hitherto undistributed compensation has accumulated interest and grown to Rs. 1,505 crores (some $327 million).

Survivors whose claims may have been wrongly dismissed or who were underpaid were directed by the court to file a separate application, and seek compensation from the Government of India. The case, argued by Advocate S. Muralidhar, was filed on 5 March 2003 by 36 petitioners representing one gas-affected wards each.

While this is a real victory for the survivors and their supporters, they have been made to wait nearly twenty years since the night of terror. The average payout will still only amount to $570 per person which, despite Dow-Carbide’s now famous dictum that “$500 is plenty good for an Indian”, comes nowhere near meeting the costs of medical treatment that survivors have already had to fund for themselves, much less compensating for two decades of illness, loss of livelihood and fear for what new horrors may emerge in their bodies.

It is a further setback for the Dow-Carbide corporation and its political accomplices in India, who are on record as demanding that this money, meant for the relief of the survivors, should be used to clean up the company’s abandoned and polluted factory in Bhopal. Last month, the Government of India threw its weight behind a court action to force Dow-Carbide to bear the full costs of cleaning the plant. (See stories below)<br
Needless to say, today the Bhopalis are jubilant. This evening, the city will be in a celebratory mood – a large, colourful juloos is planned. The media has set upon them, and a press conference is being held at 5 p.m. Bhopal time.

Click here for the answer to the question posed in the caption.

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