Bhopal, Oct 29(ANI): The victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy on Saturday staged a mass protest against the 56th Foundation Day celebrations of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal.
They assailed the state government for spending millions of rupees for the celebrations, but not caring for their rehabilitation and doling out other due compensation.
Speaking to the mediapersons, Abdul Jabber, a protesting gas victim, said the government is spending million of rupees just to tell people what they have achieved in the past eight years which he termed as a farce.
"People have been called here just to tell that how much Madhya Pradesh government has achieved in the past eight years and millions of rupees are being spent for this Foundation Day celebrations," Jabber said.
"If you see, there has been no developmental work in the state and gas leak victims are part of this state only. Last year Shivraj Singh Chauhan (Chief Minister) had made many promises for the rehabilitation of the gas leak victims, medical treatment, monetary compensation but nothing had been done in this regard," he added.
The protesting victims threatened to further their movement if the demands are not met within a time frame.
"This government is celebrating and we are mourning. We are doing so because even after 27 years of gas leak, on December 2nd they have not shown any sympathy, be it the central (federal) government or the state government," said Hamida Bi, a protestor.
In the early hours of December 3, 1984, around 40 metric tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked into the atmosphere from the plant of Union Carbide and the breeze carried the lethal gas to the surrounding slums.
The government says around 3,500 died because of the disaster. Activists however calculate that 25,000 people died in the immediate aftermath and the years that followed.
Union Carbide settled its liabilities to the Indian government in 1989 by paying 470 million dollars before another US company, Dow Chemicals, bought it over. (ANI)
|
|
Read More: Hami
Comments:
