Bhopal Gas Disaster-25 Years of Government Incompetence.

It was on December 3,1984 that lethal methyl isocyanate  gas, leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited’s(UCIL) pesticide factory, killing over 15000 people and affecting more than five lakh people due to exposure to this gas and contamination of drinking water in a five sq.km area by large amounts of chemical waste dumped in and around the factory grounds. The chemical waste is still there after 25 years of disaster, and the company which bought UCC ,Dow chemical Company, refuses to clean up the mess and in turn has landed lawsuits on protestors. Although the unofficial figures of the death toll are even higher, as the people who were exposed to this gas developed complications after some time and the children born to them were born with birth defects.

Its been 25 years since this tragedy, and the main accused in this case Mr. Warren Anderson, who was the chairman and CEO of the U.S. headquartered Union Carbide Corporation(UCC), (whose Indian subsidiary is Union Carbide India Ltd), is still living a luxurious life
. Mr.Anderson  faced  charges  on many counts and on culpable homicide. Even though CBI filed a chargesheet on him and 11 others, after the disaster, he secured his release on promise to return to india and to stand trial in india. Its been 25 years since he left india, not to return again. He has been declared absconder in 1992 by CJM’s court in Bhopal, after he refused to stand trial after repeated  summons to him.

Inspite of extradition treaty between U.S.A and India, the Indian government has not seriously pursued this case, and infact reached for an unjust settlement for compensation to the Bhopal Gas Victims. Initially, the Indian Government sued the UCC for $3 billion, but settled for 15 percent of the amount. The survivors of disaster were awarded a lifetime compensation of Rs.25,000,(Imagine Rs.25,000 for your mutilated limbs, blind eyes, cancer, and infact your life)reducing the status of victims to beggars. After  the compensation was paid no serious effort was made by the GOI, to extradite Mr. Anderson to India and to make him stand trial for this man- made disaster. There are efforts being made to scuttle this case and delay the extradition of Mr. Anderson, by both the U.S and  Indian corporates.

If the Government of India was really serious about this disaster and really cared for the Gas victims, it would have made very serious efforts in securing the custody of Mr. Anderson from the U.S. administration, through the extradition treaty between both countries. After all, 25 years is a really long time , even a child at the time of disaster would have grown  to be a young man by now.

In all this the CJM’s court in Bhopal remains a lone hope for the gas victims, since it is due to the diligent efforts of the court that some justice has been meted out to victims. The court has been persistently following this case andlet us hope some day the law of land will prevail and the willful absconder, Mr. Anderson stands trail in Indian court and pays for his sin.