Besides demanding the extradition and trial of former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson in the criminal case arising out of the worst industrial holocaust that had hit Bhopal on the midnight of December 2 and 3, 1984, when tonnes of deadly Methyl isocyanate (MIC) had leaked into the atmosphere from the multinational Union Carbide factory killing thousands and critically wounding hundreds of thousand others, the victims and NGOs working for the cause of the Bhopal gas victims also want Dow Chemical, which has now taken over Union Carbide, to own up responsibility and clean up the toxic waste lying inside the abandoned plant. Talking to this newspaper on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the gas disaster, convenor of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan (BGPMUS) Abdul Jabbar said that the Union of India had filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court in December 2010 seeking additional compensation. The state government should revise the death figures and intervene in this case to demand adequate compensation.
Mr Jabbar further said that the Madhya Pradesh government should become intervener in the SLV filed by his organisation before the Supreme Court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi to demand five times more compensation than the out of court settlement of $470 million, which was approved by the apex court in 1989.
The Madhya Pradesh government should also set up a special court for speedy trial of the accused in the criminal case linked with the gas disaster since all the accused are more than 70 years old, he said emphasising that the rehabilitation programme for the gas victims also should be reviewed comprehensively to address the issues connected with the medical, economic, and social rehabilitation of the survivors as well as environment.
Mr Jabbar went on to point out that the state government should be made accountable to the people for the utilisation of `982 crore received from government of India for relief and rehabilitation purpose. He also demanded compensation for environmental damage due to toxic waste lying inside the abandoned plant.
To mark the 28th anniversary of Bhopal gas disaster, the survivors took out a torch procession from Sindhi Colony to the Carbide plant on Saturday night. The representatives of five NGOs have given a two-year deadline to the government for meeting various demands of the gas victims.