39 Years of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: “Those who died that night were fortunate; for us it is living hell”

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

On the midnight of December 2-3, 1984, as Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh slumbered, a deadly tragedy unfolded.

More than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked out of a pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) located in the heart of the city killing thousands in a matter of minutes and maiming even more lives for life.

It is perhaps one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, the consequences of which are being felt even today. Victims, their families and social organisations continue to fight a series of long drawn legal battles in courtrooms, with the next court hearing scheduled for January 6, next month.

But India’s worst industrial disaster no longer makes news headlines. However, on ground, the tragedy continues to unfold.

Recently, a new Netflix series — The Railway Men — was released, which is based on the courageous "railway men" who risked everything to save others on the cold winter night.

On the 39th anniversary of the industrial disaster, Gaon Connection spoke with families of the victims and survivors, many of whom said that it was the lucky ones who died that ill-fated night, as those who lived are leading a life of hell, dealing with debilitating health problems and running from pillar to post for ‘justice’.

Mohammad Shareef Khan was still a teenager, about 19 years old in 1984. His home in a slum was no more than half a kilometre away from the Union Carbide factory.

“I woke up at about 2 am to raised voices. People were running here and there, screaming and shouting. The air smelt like someone had burnt red hot chillies,” Khan, who is 58 years old today, told Gaon Connection.

Feeling a burning sensation in their eyes, Khan and his family members washed them with water and were fortunate that there was no permanent damage done.

“But I know now that the poison spread in the direction the wind took and, though there is still no certainty of the actual number of people who died, I saw with my own eyes two trucks-full of dead bodies going somewhere,” he recalled.

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Rasheeda Bi was there in Bhopal too on the night of the gas leak. Since then, she has lost near and dear ones to cancer and is herself suffering from respiratory problems.

She along with another activist Champa Devi Shukla filed a lawsuit against Union Carbide and demanded the company clean up the factory site and pay for the years of soil and water contamination in the area that has resulted in a myriad health problems for the people of the city.

“It is nearly 40 years after the disaster. Through the trade union we have demanded justice be delivered to the Bhopal victims. We want them to be adequately compensated, be given employment opportunities and be rehabilitated,” Rasheeda Bi, who has been the face and voice of the victims, told Gaon Connection.

“Thousands of tonnes of dangerous chemicals from the factory still remain buried in the ground in Bhopal that continues to contaminate the water sources,” she added.

Though the death toll figure due to the Bhopal Gas tragedy differs, some estimates point out that more than 15,000 have been killed (3,800 immediately after the gas leak). Another 600,000 are affected due to the industrial disaster.

Survivors who are alive still struggle with a range of chronic health issues, from cancer and lung disorders to neurological damage and more.

According to a research study published in May 2005, The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: A review, “Estimates of the number of people killed in the first few days by the plume from the UCC plant run as high as 10,000, with 15,000 to 20,000 premature deaths reportedly occurring in the subsequent two decades. The Indian government reported that more than half a million people were exposed to the gas. Several epidemiological studies conducted soon after the accident showed significant morbidity and increased mortality in the exposed population.”

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142333/

The May 2005 review noted that “these data are likely to under-represent the true extent of adverse health effects because many exposed individuals left Bhopal immediately following the disaster never to return and were therefore lost to follow-up.”

According to social organisations working to provide relief to the hundreds and thousands of people impacted by the gas leak at the UCIL factory, it is not just the US company that is guilty of this heinous episode in history but also the state and central governments that have dragged their feet in compensating the victims.

“Even 39 long years after this humongous industrial disaster, justice is yet to make its appearance,” said Rachna Dhingra, a social activist who has worked with the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy and is a member of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

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In 1989, when a compromise was reached between the Indian government and Union Carbide, Warren Martin Anderson who was the then CEO of Union Carbide was allowed to go scott free. He faced no sentence. He died in September 2014.

“People are sentenced to at least 20 years in prison if they take the life of another human. But here was a man who killed hundreds and thousands of people and walked free. The compromise was arrived at without consulting the victims of the tragedy,” complained Rasheeda Bi.

According to her, half hearted attempts were made to rehabilitate the victims but nothing substantial came out of it. And she said her union also raised its voice against the way the gas-leak victims were treated like untouchables at hospitals, out of fear they could somehow pass on the contamination, or the disease.

Regarding the compensation, Rasheeda Bi said that 470 million USD were granted, but it should have been a lot more.

In 2001, Dow Chemicals took over Union Carbide. The demand now is for Dow Chemicals to effect the clean up. On October 3, this year, for the first time, representatives of Dow Chemicals showed up in court.

However, it is early days yet to read too much into that as the case hearing that was to happen on November 25, has been pushed back to January 6, 2024.

Meanwhile, cases of terminal illnesses, birth deformities and serious ailments continue. And, because the victims are not able to comprehensively prove that these are a consequence of the gas leak 39 years ago, they are getting no compensation.

If a few of them have got, it is after years and years of making the rounds of courtrooms, after which a paltry sum of Rs 25,000 is all they have received, said Dhingra.

“There are hundreds of cases that are underway linked to the contamination of groundwater in the 42 bastis situated near the Union Carbide factory,” said Dhingra, who has been fighting for the rights and rehabilitation of people affected by the gas leak.

Even now lakhs of people reside here, and according to her, no steps have been taken by the government to clean up the area which continues to have dangerous chemicals leaching into the water and soil, and continuing to cause serious ailments.

“There are cases pending against senior officials of the Union Carbide company. The representative of Dow Chemical showed up in an Indian court after 18 years. These cases have been going on since 1987, and the next hearing for this is on 6 January, 2024,” Dhingra said.

She said she was saddened by the fact that while those responsible were given a two-year sentence, not a single person went to jail. “Of the eight people who were sentenced, four of them died as free men. Warren Anderson also died a free man,” she said.

The gas has led to terrible conditions such as cancer, kidney diseases, respiratory problems, birth deformities that are for life and are being passed on to the unborn generation too, said Dhingra.

The fight for justice for the victims, survivors and their families will continue next year when the industrial disaster enters its 40th year.