At the stroke of midnight on December 2, people of Bhopal lighted candles in memory of the 20,000 people killed by the toxic fumes that leaked from the Methyl
Isocynate (MIC) tank of the Union Carbide factory in 1984. For the 570,000 victims of the world’s largest industrial catastrophe, the 20th anniversary of Bhopal Gas Disaster was another year of injustice and neglect from the Government and Dow Chemicals; the new management took over Union Carbide Corporation that owned the Union Carbide Bhopal factory.
But for the Supreme Court and a few Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that intervened repeatedly for the relief of the gas victims there was hardly much to cheer for the victims who continue to suffer chronic diseases and battle death everyday. It was the Supreme Court’s landmark decision of July to disburse Rs. 1576 crore, the interest accrued on the settlement amount between Union Carbide Corporation and Government of India among the 570,000 odd gas victims, that brought the issue to fore again.
Even as NGOs and Green peace have launched a world-wide campaign to force Dow Chemicals to take up immediate steps for cleaning the premises of Carbide factory in Bhopal from toxic wastes, a survey conducted by the BBC found toxic wastes in water sources around the factory almost a million times more than the permissible limit.
- Prakash Pillai