Survivors recall Bhopal gas tragedy on 30th anniversary, demand compensation

Survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, which occurred 30 years ago, on Wednesday recalled the night when toxic gas leaked from a pesticide factory in the city and killed thousands. In the early hours of December 3, 1984, around 40 metric tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas accidentally leaked from the US multinational Union Carbide-owned plant and was carried by the wind into the surrounding slums.

The government recorded 5,295 deaths. Activists estimate 25,000 people have died from illnesses in the years since. Many more are said to be dealing with cancer, blindness, respiratory difficulties and immune and neurological disorders, but with no support.

Mahesh Lal Kushwaha, one of the victims, said he has been disappointed by previous governments. "That day around, 2 o'clock in the morning, our eyes started burning and we all started coughing. When we stepped out, it was all smoky. We could not understand what was happening and everybody started running. My father and my two sisters died. When I gained conscious, I was in a hospital. I have no clue who took me there. In the 30 years since then, our health has suffered a lot. We have neither received any treatment nor compensation".

On Tuesday, people had held a candlelight vigil and called for the clean-up of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste, buried by the company inside and outside the plant. The waste has seeped into the ground and has poisoned the drinking water of 50,000 people living around the site. 

Activists want this waste removed and disposed off away from the area, and feel government authorities, who now own the site, have fumbled on taking action - either by clearing up the waste itself or in pursuing Union Carbide to take responsibility.

Meanwhile, another survivor Ramesh Kumar stated that the government has given them paltry amount as compensation. "I have so far received a compensation of Rs 50,000. I cannot walk or work and my lungs are also damaged. I want full compensation from the government," he said.

The Madhya Pradesh government said that the Supreme Court decides which beneficiaries are eligible for compensation and free health care. The state's principal secretary at the department in charge of relief and rehabilitation for Bhopal's victims, Pravir Krishn, said that every affected person has been listed and this has been put before the Supreme Court and the apex court has decided, after extensive examination of their cases, what is to be paid and to whom.

Krishn added that some impoverished families seeking compensation for sicknesses or medical help for their disabled children, who suffer from diseases such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, were not from contaminated locations, suggesting they falsely claimed to be victims of the tragedy.

He further said the state has provided Rs 4,000 crore to 5.75 lakh people identified by the Supreme Court as being affected by the disaster, built six state-of-the art hospitals and provided houses for many victims.