Ahead of the 31st anniversary of a devastating gas tragedy in Bhopal, a group fighting for justice for the victims on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of being apathetic to their demands.
Bhopal Group of Information and Action (BGIA) said the incumbent as well as the previous governments have been ignorant to the victims' demands.
"Be it the Congress government or a government of the Bhratiya Janata Party (BJP), both of them have followed the policy of being callous towards the victims and protection of the company's interests. This is the policy that all governments have been following. I think that may be during the regime of BJP this policy is being followed all the more seriously," said a founding member of BGIA, Satinath Sarangi.
Activists accuse the Indian and U.S. governments and the Dow Chemical Company that owns Union Carbide of not doing enough to support victims of the disaster.
"If you look at it, at least 0.15 million people are suffering from chronic diseases caused by the gas leak. The children who were four or five-years old back then, they are 34-35-years old today and they are dying untimely deaths after prolonged suffering," said Sarangi.
He further noted that the soil and water in and around the Union Carbide factory were still contaminated due to the thousands of tons of toxic waste around the plant, which has seeped into the ground.
Activists demand more financial compensation for the victims and the removal of toxic waste from the factory premises.
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However, Dow Chemical has denied any liability, saying it bought Union Carbide a decade after the firm settled its liabilities to the Indian government in 1989 by paying $470 million.
But activists said that was a paltry sum based on the extent of human suffering and various petitions to hold Dow to account and insist on increased compensation and cleaning up the waste are being pressed in Indian and U.S. courts.
In the early hours of December 3, 1984, around 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas accidentally leaked from a pesticide factory owned by U.S. multinational Union Carbide Corp. and was carried by the wind into the surrounding slums in India's central Bhopal city.
The government recorded 5,295 deaths. Activists estimate at least 25,000 died from illnesses since the leak.
Many people in the vicinity of the factory still suffer from cancer, blindness, respiratory problems and immune and neurological disorders.