Bhopal - This isn't over yet

Bhopal – a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. Also, a city that has been scarred both physically and emotionally.


In Dec, 1984, something inside the Union Carbide malfunctioned. It led to the release of a lethal gas – a mixture of MIC, when mixed with water.

This lethal chemical was being produced and stored by the plant in the heart of the city with thousands of people living in close quarters. People who were not aware that elsewhere in the world such close proximity would not have been permitted legally.

It was a failure of the company, crew, municipal authorities and more. Cost cutting measures had been started by the parent company sitting outside India. Maintenance workers had been cut down to half, despite various incidents reports coming much before the 1984 tragedy. Faulty equipment was not replaced, safety processes were lax and the motive was purely capitalistic.

The tragedy is that it killed thousands of people then – and it STILL kills and harms people today. There are ill formed children born each day. Some have tumours for eyes, some have twisted limbs, many have ‘broken’ smiles… And no one really cares.

There were court orders; in fact criminal proceedings have been on since the last 25 years. It hasn’t helped – nor did the paltry sums that were initially given by Union Carbide as compensation. In fact, much of it hasn’t been released even now!

In fact TOI story states, “The compensation amount — Rs 713 crore, paid by Union Carbide — was meant for about 1 lakh persons but has been distributed among nearly 6 lakh people. Of the Rs 713 crores, Rs 113 crores was for loss of livestock and property. The balance Rs 600 crore distributed among 5.74 lakh persons works out to about Rs 12,410 per victim on average. In contrast, in the Uphaar tragedy in Delhi, families of those who died got between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 18 lakh each, while injured persons got Rs 1 lakh each. In addition, they got interest at the rate of 9% per annum for the roughly six years that the legal proceedings took.” Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bhopal-Gas-Tragedy-Endless-nightmare/articleshow/5294330.cms

What do we want – simple, justice. Two years isn’t exactly the type of jail term that can be handed out for killing, even on a highly conservative estimate, 10,000 people in 1984 and the thousands more born with defects since then. Our liability laws need to know how to deal with such tragedies and how to penalize companies that operate within the Indian territory. Look at BP’s penalty case…what would have happened if the oil spill was in the Indian Ocean. (Read: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bhopal%5Cs-ongoing-tragedy/397369/)

Life is to be valued and respected. You cannot ever completely compensate, but there needs to be a sincere attempt. Today the tanks still leak toxins, the water table is contaminated, even breast milk now is toxic and so many people still struggle to receive access to basic amenities.

Just because they are poor, does not mean they have no friends and can be forgotten. As long as we care, they will not be forgotten – not in 10 years, 25 years or 100 years.

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