Bhopal: Gas victims to hold rally in New Delhi today

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal gas victim will take out rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday to mark the 38th anniversary of Bhopal gas tragedy to raise issue of additional compensation for the affected people.

Gas victims informed media in Bhopal on Friday said that Rashida Bi, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, a trade union of women survivors of the disaster, said “On November 17, the principal secretary of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation of state government had said that state government would present correct figures of deaths in the Supreme Court and also state that the victims suffered permanent injury.”

Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action pointed out the state government’s failure to invite global tenders for remediation of the contaminated lands near Union Carbide’s abandoned factory.

Eleven years back, the state government had promised to set up an expert panel to assess the environmental damage caused by Union Carbide and Dow Chemical and seek compensation from them. Since then, the government has not done anything in this direction. “The victims of the gas disaster can receive compensation only if the state government presents correct figures of damage,” Dhingra said.