On Thursday, the gas disaster survivors’ organisations marched to the abandoned Union Carbide factory where a burning of Dow Chemical effigy took place. On 36th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy four organisations of survivors condemned the continued evasion of legal liabilities by Dow Chemical, USA for the ongoing damage to the health of the survivors. “Dow Chemical’s market share that was down to 2.5 % in 2005 has steadily risen since 2015 to over 22% of the Indian market.

 

Meanwhile, the monthly pension of Rs 1,000 for 5,000 women widowed by the disaster has been stopped since last December,” said Rashida Bee, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh. Alleging downplaying of figures of death of gas survivors due to COVID-19 by the Madhya Pradesh Government, Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information & Action, said “We dare the Government officials to cite one instance in the last 36 years when we have stated something without factual and or scientific basis.

 

“The effect of the pandemic on the survivors in Bhopal and on people exposed to industrial pollution everywhere in the world has once again highlighted the urgent need for reigning in chemical corporations,” said Nausheen Khan for the Children Against Dow Carbide.