Bhopal: The five organisations working for the rights of the survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster have asked Indian Prime Minister Narendar Modi and US President Barak Obama to end the ongoing disaster in Bhopal which is in its fourth decade.
On the occasion of Obama visit to India the survivors demanded that leaders of both the countries to stop protecting corporate interests over the lives and health of ordinary people and sought reflection and course correction for ending the Bhopal disaster. The US President is in India to be the chief guest at the Independence celebration of the country in New Delhi on January 26.
In Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory had spewed 40 metric tonnes of poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas whereby 3000 people had perished virtually instantly and over the years more than 25000 have kissed death and the sad saga is still continuing uninterruptedly. Over half a million are still suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousands of people have been maimed for life.
Union Carbide had come to a settlement in 1989 by paying meagre $470 million to the Indian government. Critics have maintained that the amount is too low, and must be hiked.
Meanwhile, in December, survivor organisations had written a letter to President Obama to acknowledge the central role played by the United Sates government in the creation of the disaster in Bhopal and in the denial of justice to the victims.
Ms Rashida Bi, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh said: "Warren Anderson, who recently died in Florida was charged with manslaughter, grievous assault and several other offences. Despite attempts from the Indian government to seek his extradition and the US governments denial of extradition sent the message around the world that US corporation are not bound by law or human rights in the countries in which they operate."
"Dow Chemical has also operated as if they are above the law in our country and continue to deny it has any liability or even connection to Bhopal disaster. Dow Chemical Company has been ignoring summons issued by the Bhopal district court in the ongoing legal case against the corporation", said Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha.
Nawab Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said: "Obama made British Petroleum pay 20 billion dollars for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. We would like to ask him how his conscience allows him to support two US corporations that paid a tiny fraction of that amount for two thousand times more fatalities. Additionally 50,000 living in the vicinity of the now abandoned pesticide factory have had their ground water contaminated with toxic chemicals and heavy metals that have leached from recklessly buried hazardous waste. The contamination continues to spread and find new victims every day and US corporations continue to deny its liability"
"Prime Minister Modi has shown great enthusiasm in welcoming US corporations to invest in India and we hope that Indian government will be as enthusiastic in making US corporations obey Indian laws, as Bhopal was the original "make in India: in the profoundest sense of the phrase, said Ms Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information & Action. (pervezbari@eth.net)
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