"It was an incident, not an accident"

As the 25^th anniversary of the world’s biggest industrial disaster draws closer, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy continue to live in abject indifference from the union as well as the state government.

Also, as the CBI has failed to get Warren Anderson, the chairperson of the Union Carbide pesticide plant at the time of the tragedy, extradited to India even after two non-bailable arrest warrants, Union Carbide America has gone on record for the umpteenth time saying that the tragedy was a result of negligence on the part of the workers and the management was not at fault.

Further, just to put things into perspective, as over 300,000 victims that the tragedy spawned still make frequent rounds of city hospitals; with over a 100,000 of them rendered permanently affected, life in the West Virginia unit of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), goes on unperturbed and Mr. Anderson continues to live in a posh Manhattan neighbourhood.

And finally, what did the tragedy, that sent shockwaves across the world in 1984, cost the UCC? A mere $470 million in compensation, as agreed upon in a 1989 Supreme Court brokered settlement based on 1,20,000 injured and another 3000 dead, without any consultation with the victims.

That, as the SC directed the government of India at that time, was it. No more claims or complaints could be made to the UCC after that, as the corporation had settled all claims for good. Later, however, the value of the amount in rupees went up due to the rise in the American dollar and the SC ordered the government to distribute the surplus amount to victims on a pro-rata basis.

In May 2007, the SC turned down a plea for more compensation and directed the case to the state welfare commissioner, who rejected it on January, 31^st 2009.

The situation today

At last count, made in 2004 during the settlement of compensation claims, there were 5,74,000 people who were proven to be seriously injured as a result of the disaster.

These, along with another 15,274 who were dead, were lucky. They received monetary, compensation in return for their loss; whether or not it was adequate is another matter. The actual story, told by civic organizations working for the cause, involves many more who weren’t as fortunate.

There were two “rounds” of identification of victims. The first, from 1985-1989, saw 5,97,000 claims being filed, while the second, from 1996-2004, took that figure to 10,29,000. What’s interesting, or stupefying rather, is the fact that only around 300,000 were medically tested in the first round, while in the second round, not even a single claimant was tested.

Medical testing was required to prove that the claimant was actually a victim. The burden of proof in this case, which effectively translates into getting through innumerable bureaucratic cobwebs, lay on the victim.

This effectively meant that no matter how many died or were injured because of the “negligence” of the management, only those who could prove that they suffered would be compensated.

Contaminated drinking water

“The disaster didn’t just end in ’84,” says Abdul Jabbar, an activist working for the victims ever since the tragedy occurred. “For those permanently affected and living around the Carbide factory and the pond where all its effluents were dumped, and which still have hazardous chemicals, the disaster continues,” he adds. The contamination, he says has spread five Kms around the main site. Yet, there has been no separate lawsuit filed against the company for this continued massacre.

Reports compiled by various research organizations, including Greenpeace, Citizen’s Environmental Laboratory (Boston, USA) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute among others, reveal that the Carbide factory, waste stockpile, disposal sites, waste dump and the soil around it, contain at least 18 toxic chemicals.

These include carcinogens like Chlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) and Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and toxins like Chlorinated Naphthalene, Hexachlorobutadine, Lead and Mercury among others. The reports clearly state that exposure to these can cause excessive damage to the brain, nervous system, liver, kidneys, and lungs; it can further result in skin lesions, fragile skin, stunted growth and damage to developing foetus.

The pond, as Carbide officials stated, had a plastic coating underneath it to stop seepage into ground water. However, the black soil of the region develops cracks and seepage occurs easily, polluting the ground water.

Slums and colonies have come up around the site and residents of these are forced to drink contaminated water due to the lack of safe drinking water. Toxins like Hexachlorobutadine, besides harming humans, are extremely hazardous for the ecology of the area as they may cause sustained damage to animals, birds, fish and plants.

“The work for clean water supply to the affected localities, being carried out on a order by the SC, is on at the moment and should be done by the end of November this year,” says Gopesh Shrivatsava, Sub-Engineer, Bhopal Municipal Corporation.

Health situation precarious

There is no convincing specialized health-care apparatus available to the affected population. The Bhopal Memorial Hospital trust, established with the Rs.290 crore obtained from selling Carbide properties after a SC order of 1991, started services only in 2000, and that too partially.

Further, because of the government’s apathy, the affected people have to depend on private practitioners, most of whom, activists claim are professionally under-qualified to handle diseases of such serious nature.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted 24 studies in Bhopal since the disaster which were concluded in 1994. The full report submitted by the ICMR has still not been made public.

Besides, there has been no official documentation of gas-related deaths, which are still happening, since 1992. (ICMR reports till 1992 are with this reporter)

Rehabilitation

2490 residences were built with the assistance of the central government for widows of the dead. Today, this colony is just another ill-planned slum. The more than 2000 families staying here are living in abject poverty and inhabitable conditions. Activists claim that more than 1100 widows, with no family supporters, continue to live without proper food or healthcare.

Carbide’s continued refusal

“They are just trying to save themselves,” says T.R.Chauhan, who was a control room operator at the plant during the tragedy and the author of “Bhopal-The Inside story”, a book describing the events that led to the tragedy.

“There is enough evidence to prove that the management was responsible for the cost-saving steps that led to the safety lapse that caused the leak,” Chauhan says.

Shahnawaz Khan, an advocate, had served two notices (copies with this reporter) to the Carbide management highlighting exactly the same dangers from the plant that actually came forward during the tragedy in 1983.

In a written reply to the notices (copies with this reporter), the plant manager J.Mukund, termed the allegations baseless, saying the plant had the requisite permits to operate from the union and the state government.

“He told me in person that the workers were safer in the factory than they were in their homes,” says Khan. “Every concern about things that would lead to the tragedy later, was termed baseless by Mukund. That is precisely the reason that we call it an incident and not an accident and also why we have been arguing in the court to change the section from 304 (a) to 304,” he adds.

According to reliable sources, Carbide had big political connections in the state. Madhavrao Scindia, the erstwhile ruler-cum-political icon from Gwalior had shares in Carbide and so did Congress veteran V.C.Shukla.

“Arjun Singh’s Chourhat lottery received a donation of Rs.15 lakh from the company on record. The BJP’s central committee received donation worth lakhs from Dow chemicals in last year’s assembly elections. How do you expect any political will to prosecute the company coming out of such people,” a source said.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Bhopal, recently issued another non-bailable warrant for the arrest of Anderson and held that the “willful non-execution” of this warrant is a “punishable offence under sections 217 and 221 of IPC” on part of the union government and the “public servants” concerned.

It also held that the “public servants” responsible for the execution are “cabinet secretary K.M.Chandrashekhar and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.”