Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Victims burn effigies of Dow Chemical CEO on 36th anniversary

36 years after the horrific Bhopal Gas Tragedy, victims and their families staged a massive protest in the Madhya Pradesh capital against Dow Chemical - the company which took over Union Carbide, the perpetrator, in 2001. Victims and their kin burnt effigies of Dow Chemical chairman Jim Fitterlin in protest on Thursday which marks the 36th year since the day of the tragedy in 1984. 

"Our fight will continue till the time Bhopal gets justice & Dow Chemical company is punished," ANI quoted a protester.

102 victims died due to COVID: MP govt

Even after 36 years, the tragedy still continues to haunt victims as the Coronavirus outbreak has now ratcheted their sufferings. As per data, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy are 6 times more vulnerable to the Coronavirus than a normal person. On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh government informed that 102 survivors of the tragedy had died due to COVID-19. 

READ | 36 Years On, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Still Haunts Victims As They Are More COVID Vulnerable

"Till December 2, COVID-19 has claimed 518 lives in Bhopal district. Of them, 102 are Bhopal gas tragedy survivors. Out of these 102 people, 69 were above 50 years of age, while the remaining 33 were aged below 50," PTI quoted Bhopal gas tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Director Basant Kurre said.

However, NGOs and activists have countered the data released by the state government. Speaking to Republic TV, activist Rachna Dhingra had revealed that out of 450 deaths due to COVID-19 in the state, 254 victims presented strong proof of being exposed to the gas tragedy. Data also states that 15 victims had died in the isolation wards of COVID-19 hospitals due to the unavailability of doctors.  

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It has been learnt that activists had issued a warning to the state government back in March when the city hadn't even reported a single death due to COVID-19. However, the state government has failed to take any concrete steps. In a letter to the ICMR DG, the survivors' group of the Bhopal gas tragedy had alleged that due to multi-systemic damage caused as a result of the exposure to toxic gases of Union Carbide, over half-a-million Bhopal residents exposed to Union Carbide's gas are at least five times more vulnerable to COVID-19 than a general population.

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Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1984

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy wherein a leak from the Union Carbide plant had left around 3,500 dead and many maimed. The number of fatalities is still contested, to date. The tragedy is considered to be one of the world's worst industrial disaster as over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. According to certain reports, many still suffer from medical conditions, including birth defects. 

While Warren Anderson, the Chairman of Union Carbide who was the main accused in the case absconded from legal proceedings in India, a Bhopal court convicted 7 persons associated with the company and sentenced them to two-year imprisonment. Anderson passed away in 2014.  

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