1984 December 2 – The worst industrial disaster in the
history of mankind happened at Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh State, India in a
notorious multinational company named Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) from
which a venomous gas called Methyl Isocyanate leaked out in the wee hours from
the poorly maintained factory, killing thousands, maiming lakhs in and around Bhopal
besides ‘living martyrs’ struggling for life without getting any worthwhile
compensation forthcoming from the irresponsible company owners, mind you, it
was a multinational firm based in USA. Neither the govt of India nor the then
Madhya Pradesh govt headed by late Arjun Singh, a Congress heavy-weight allegedly
cared not to alleviate the sufferings of those who survived still reeling under
the impact of the worst industrial tragedy ever witnessed by the world. Compared
to Union Carbide disaster which shook India and shocked the whole world, Chernobyl
disaster which occurred in Russia was not at all a match. In other words, a comparison
between the two is preposterous.
Instead of arresting and incarcerating the head of the
factory in India, Warren Anderson, was reportedly provided with all help by the
concerned govts, both at the Centre and State-level and extended to him all
facilities to safely escape from the country to his native land USA. That step
was essential for rescuing him from the wrath of natives of Madhya Pradesh.
Both govts, Central and States, didn’t rise to the occasion
and allegedly didn’t care much expected of them under such tragic circumstances.
In a disaster of that magnitude it was the primary responsibility of our
authorities both at Central and State level to prevail upon the owners of the
multinational company to provide the dependents of those who perished in the
disaster, demand maximum compensation they deserved then and there, it was the
responsibility of authorities both at the Central and State level to extract
maximum compensation to other victims of the tragedy who remain alive as the ‘living
martyrs’ struggling for life to withstand the deadly consequences of poisonous
Methyl Isocyanate gas which they inhaled during sleep in the wee hours of the
morning who found and still find themselves
between the hard rock and deep violent sea.
Now that nearly three decades have passed the conditions of
the victims remain as such.
On Thursday, the Honourable Court of the land, the Supreme
Court of India, a division bench headed by Chief Justice S.H.Kapadia, Justice
A.K. Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar delivered a verdict in favour of the
victims by directing the State and Central govts to take necessary steps to
remove the toxic remains lying in and around the company in six months. The
court further ordered to convene a meeting by the empowered monitoring
committee, the Advisory Committee, Institute of Research and Environmental
Health (IREH) with the Secretary of Central govt and the Chief Secretary of
Madhya Pradesh govt within one month and take immediate steps to remove the
hazardous materials at the earliest which if not removed will spread to a wide
area affecting the health of those living in its vicinity. Furthermore, the
court ordered the concerned authorities to provide the victims with health
booklets, smart cards, computerization of medical records of the patients so as
to enable them to claim compensation.
The hospitals entrusted with looking after the health needs of
victims The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre and Gas Research Hospital
allegedly cared not to extend the required treatment to victims suffering from
severe respiratory problems and Total Renal Failure (TRF). Instead of caring
emergency needs of the gas victims the medical staff are still concerned with
the treatment of other patients admitted in these hospitals. Number of dialysis
needed for the each suffering from renal failure are restricted to 8 instead of
conducting two dialysis per week.
Many private clinics have risen in and around the disaster
site but the poor victims can’t afford to undergo dialysis at these hospitals
as they charge Rs 1500 – Rs 2000 for each dialysis. In both the govt and
private hospitals due to lack of hygienic facilities, many patients contract
hepatitis making their life more pathetic and miserable. Lack of doctors, other
staff and lack of necessary medical equipments too have made the problem worse
for the victims.
Now that Supreme Court has intervened and has extended the
freedom to the gas-affected victims and their organizations to approach Bhopal
High Court at Jabalpur in case of any complaints and may obtain remedial
action. The health booklets, smart cards and medical records will enable the
victims to produce wherever required and get their problems redressed. Formerly
such facilities were not available to them and hence they had no documentary
evidences to present before the concerned officials.
The presence of a strong, active and independent judiciary
in our country is the ultimate outlet and savior for those at the lower strata
of society where the Parliament and Executive fail. That is an average Indian
citizen’s ultimate hope and faith.
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