It has been 25 years but the disaster and its impacts are still going on in Bhopal. Well, we all know what has happened on 3rd December, 1984, when Union Cardbide Pesticide Plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India spewed out poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanata (MIC) exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. 3,787 people died immediately because of the exposure to MIC and an estimate 8,000 to 10,000 died within 72 hours and more than 25,000 have died since then from gas-related diseases. More than 100,000 people are still suffering from severe, chronic and breathing difficulties, damaged eyesight, reproductive complications, rising cancer rates and range of other ailments that affect nearly every system of their assaulted bodies.
25 years on and still hundreds of tonnes of abandoned toxic chemicals from the Union Carbide plant continue to pollute the ground waters of the region and affecting the thousands of people who depend on it as Union Carbide left the disastrous site un-cleaned. There has been many civil and criminal cases pending in USA and Indian against Union Carbide now owned by Dow Chemical Company, yet no Justice has been met. The people affected are promised compensations, yet the powerful Industrialists of USA and the dirty bureaucrats of India has denied the people their rights. They were the innocent victims of the negligence and irresponsibility of the Union Carbide Manslaughters, the terrorists without arms or bombs who ignored the basic safety norms to cut the costs. They are now the victims of the irresponsible governments and blood-sucker politicians who in the name of victims’ compensations swelling their Swiss Bank Accounts.
Will these people ever get Justice for what they gone through? Will these people ever get compensations for their sufferings? Will these people get treatments for their ailments? Will they ever get a clean and un-polluted environment to live in?
You can find more information on International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) at www.bhopal.net . Let us spread this message and educate ourselves about the tragedy that has happened 25 years back, yet those affected are denied their right to live better lives. Let us raise our voice. Just participate in ICJB and help those are suffering from Bhopal Gas Disaster get their Justice.
You can read more about the tragedy at: BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
it is such a shame to read that each of the 5.69 lakh victims were compensated a mere ~12,000/- on an average. A quarter of the century has passed yet our system hasn't done the right justice.
ReplyDeleteThe video just made me feel more for those affected. Good article seema!
12000/- for each victim that makes it total of 136.56 Million dollars (converting with $1 = 50/-)
ReplyDeleteI dont think these were paid ever to the actual victims.
Such a big tradegy that was...
ReplyDeleteHello Seema Syed, I like your blog and wish you all the energy you can get, to keep up working for a better world. We are so technically advanced, we could all have a nice living. But instead there is to much crap going on in the world by people who can not just chill and let others be.
ReplyDeleteIt is widely reported that UCC has paid $470m compensation to Indian Government. Till now no information has been made available to public on where this money is or how (if at all) it has been used to help the victims.
ReplyDeleteRumours are rife that massive corruption at very senior level of the Govt had misappropriated this money.
It is always the poor and the downtrodden who suffer most.
Such is our country where disabled, old and such victims have always been ignored and the "emotional" Indians watch them on their TVs at night, comment on the system and think somebody else will do something for them.
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