Bhopal gas victims plan public action
Mar 21, 2007 - 12:33:47 PM
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The state government, according to the survivor organisations, has also agreed to provide all information on soil and ground water contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory and to build a wall around the factory to protect children and cattle from the hazardous materials therein.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Bhopal, March 21 - The representatives of the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, who ended a 14-day hunger strike Monday, plan a 'public action' if the Madhya Pradesh government fails to keep its promises.
'Public actions have been planned in India and abroad in April and May if the state government fails to honour its commitments. This would include indefinite fasts by supporters at the Indian embassy in Washington,' Rachna Dhingra, a member of the Bhopal Group of Information and Action -, told IANS.
The agitation, which many gas-survivors' organisations had joined, ended Monday only when the state government gave a written assurance that their demands would be met soon.
The survivors are demanding healthcare and economic rehabilitation for those affected by the toxic fumes that leaked from the now-defunct Union Carbide pesticide plant 22 years ago on Dec 2, 1984. Over 3,000 people died instantly and more than 15,000 affected people died later.
'The decision to end the fast and the 27-day sit-in was taken after the state government accepted key demands and district collector S.K. Mishra, authorised by the chief minister to look into our problems, handed over a written response to each of the demands raised by us,' said Rachna, who participated in the strike with five others.
The other participants in the strike were Rashida Bee, who had lost six family members to cancer after they inhaled the noxious fumes, Guddi Bee, Jabbar Khan, Shehazadi Bee, all of who were exposed to the toxic gases in 1984, and BGIA activist Satinath Sarangi.
The strike was part of a 'Jeene Ka Haq' - campaign, which began Feb 20 to demand social support for the survivors and their families, safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the plant site.
The leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations, including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh -, Bhopal Group for Information and Action - and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz -, want the state government to ensure that toxic waste is not allowed to contaminate surrounding areas and the survivors are provided safe drinking water, as directed by the Supreme Court.
As per the agreement reached with the state government, immediate steps will be taken to fill vacant posts in hospitals meant for the affected and to improve the quality of medicines and facilities for investigations there.
The government has also agreed that the doctors and specialists at the gas relief hospitals will now be contracted for five years and an office of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal would be constituted. Besides, sub-groups on medical care, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation with the participation of survivors' organisations, too, would be formed.
The state government, according to the survivor organisations, has also agreed to provide all information on soil and ground water contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory and to build a wall around the factory to protect children and cattle from the hazardous materials therein.
The state has also promised that 50 additional tanks will be provided in a month's time for provision of safe water around the abandoned factory.
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