The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : TWENTY YEARS TOO LATE

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Tuesday, Apr 27, 2004

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TWENTY YEARS TOO LATE

TWENTY YEARS AFTER India was the scene of one of the world's worst industrial accidents, few people are aware of the continuing saga of indifference and injustice that has been the plight of thousands of survivors. With the recognition given by the Goldman Environmental Prize to Rasheeda Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, two of the thousands of men and women who are still suffering from the consequences of the Bhopal gas tragedy, we are reminded once again of this modern day horror story. On December 2-3, 1984, massive amounts of poisonous methyl isocyanate spewed out of the chimney of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal and killed some 3,000 people. Since then, another estimated 17,000 people have died from gas-affected maladies. And over 150,000 limp along with impaired lungs and other ailments that can be traced to inhaling the poison gas. Their tragedy has been compounded by an indifferent government, a callous corporation that refused to face up to its full liability, and an apathetic general public that treated this is as one more of the many tragedies that occur in this country.

The Bhopal disaster is special for a number of reasons. First, it is the result of deliberate negligence on the part of a company that should have adhered to the standards it claimed it followed elsewhere in the world. Secondly, it is the outcome of lax government controls that allow highly dangerous polluting industries to exist right next to large human settlements, usually comprising the poor. Thirdly, it illustrates the continuing absence of disaster management planning, including health care interventions, when such accidents happen. And finally, it shows the travesty of justice when thousands of people, for no fault of theirs, must suffer impaired health and at the same time battle corporations and governments for what is their due.

Rasheeda Bee and Champa Devi Shukla — recipients of what is also known as the `Nobel prize for the Environment' — are a part of the 20-year-long struggle by survivors of the gas disaster not just for relief for themselves, but for establishing corporate and social accountability. Their struggle has been made more difficult by the merger of Union Carbide, the company that ran the Bhopal plant, with Dow Chemicals in 2001. The latter argues that it cannot take responsibility for what Union Carbide did. Union Carbide had held that the plant was the responsibility of its subsidiary, Union Carbide India Limited. The victims hold that none of this legalese detracts from the moral responsibility of the company, whatever it might be called today. In particular, they have asked Dow Chemicals to clean up the mess left behind by Union Carbide in the form of a rusting plant and acres of contaminated soil that have already affected the quality of ground water in the surrounding areas. For years, cattle have been drinking this water that is laced with mercury, nickel and other toxins, according to numerous tests. People in the surrounding areas have been using this water for bathing and sometimes even drinking it because there is no other water available. The Government feigns indifference and the company insists this is not its job. It is this attitude, this refusal to take responsibility, that has made women like Rasheeda Bee and Champa Devi fight on the streets and in the courts. They have filed a class action suit against Dow Chemicals to pin responsibility for the poisonous mess left behind in Bhopal. Their struggle needs to be not just saluted, but supported effectively.

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