1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims Stage Protest Over Closure Of Sambhavna Trust Clinic, Sing 'We Shall Overcome'

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Members of the Union Carbide Poison Victims Healthcare Rights Front commenced their indefinite sit-in in Bhopal on Wednesday, demanding early FCRA registration of the Sambhavna Trust by the Home Ministry.

The Sambhavna Trust Clinic that provided free specialised healthcare to the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster was shut on January 1, 2025, after 28 years, due to lack of funds caused by delay in FCRA registration. 

The sit-in began with the song “We shall overcome.” Hundreds of survivors registered for long-term care at the clinic run by the Sambhavna Trust and participated in the protest. The participants of the sit-in included survivors receiving care at the clinic, members of survivors’ organisations, and staff members of the clinic.

Ravishankar Tiwari, a survivor of the Union Carbide disaster, said he visited several government and private hospitals for his health problems, but he got cured only after he took treatment at the Sambhavna Trust Clinic.

Satinath Sarangi, a consultant of Sambhavna Trust, said that the 52 staff members rendered jobless due to the closure of the clinic are hopeful of having their demand of early FCRA registration fulfilled because of the active support they are receiving from thousands of survivors.

Notably, 377 metric tonnes of Union Carbide's toxic waste was collected, packed in trucks in Bhopal. The loaded trolleys will leave for Pithampur for proper waste disposal. The much awaited action came after intervention of the high court.