Bhopal disaster activist welcomes Centre's thumbs down to Dow Chemicals' Olympics sponsorship

New Delhi, Dec 5(ANI): The Central government on Monday received a pat on the back from a Bhopal disaster activist following the announcement of its decision to protest Dow Chemicals' sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics.

Satinath Sarangi, a well-known campaigner representing the Bhopal Group for Information and Action based in Bhopal, welcomed the move, but added that more still needed to be done for the victims.

"It is indeed encouraging for the Bhopal gas victims and their supporters worldwide that the government has now directed the Indian Olympic Committee (Indian Olympic Association) to register its protest against sponsorship of Dow Chemical company of London Olympics 2012. But we don't think that is enough, the government has to do much more," said Sarangi.

Sarangi further highlighted that the consensus of provincial parties over the issue needed to be consistent so that the momentum of the cause could be maintained.

"More importantly the IOC President, Vijay Malhotra, who belongs to the same political party as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, must at least see that there is consistency in the views of his party in relationship to the Dow Chemicals sponsorship," Sarangi said.

"While the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has stated that India should boycott Olympics if it continues to be sponsored by Dow Chemicals, given that there are pending criminal, civil and environmental liabilities of this company in Bhopal," he added.

In the early hours of December 3, 1984, around 40 metric tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked into the atmosphere from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.

The deadly gas was carried by the breeze into the surrounding slums.

Union Carbide settled its liabilities with the Indian government in 1989 by paying 470 million dollars before the firm was bought by another US company, Dow Chemicals, in 1999. Dow Chemicals denies any responsibility.

Activists say 25,000 died in the immediate aftermath and the years that followed while a further 100,000 people who were exposed to the gas continue to suffer today. (ANI)