Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Forty years have passed since the Bhopal gas tragedy occurred, but responsibility for one of the biggest industrial disasters in the world is yet to be fixed. The government generally takes credit for acting on trivial issues. The Congress and the BJP have ruled the country and the state in the past 40 years, but none of those responsible for such a disaster that claimed thousands of human lives has been sent to jail.
A court of chief judicial magistrate awarded two-year jail term to seven persons – Keshub Mahindra, V P Gokhale, Kishore Kamdar, J Mukund, S P Chowdhury, K V Shetty, and S I Qureshi, — under section 304A in 2010. But the section, under which the punishment was awarded, provides jail term only for two years. Immediately after the punishment was awarded, all the seven persons got bail from the district court. The case has been lying with the court for 14 years.
Nevertheless, only three of the seven culprits, who were awarded punishment, are alive. Four have passed away. The owner of Union Carbide Warren Anderson came to Bhopal only once after the tragedy. The then SP of the city Swaraj Puri sent him back by the state hanger. Afterwards, Anderson never came to Bhopal during the hearing of the case. He, too, passed away.
The office-bearers of the organisations, working for the welfare of gas victims, say the sufferers, despite fighting a long legal battle, have yet to get justice. The culprits were not sent to jail. Nor did the victims get enough compensation.
They have been deprived of potable water and the treatment for the diseases they are suffering from, because of the tragedy. The residents of Bhopal are still waiting for justice. The responsibility for disaster that harmed the citizens mentally and physically, generations after generations, has yet to be fixed.
Thousands of crores rupees spent, but victims still craving for basic facilities
Thousands of crores of rupees have been spent in the name of gas victims. But the government has failed to provide basic facilities, like education, medicines, homes and potable water to them. The hospital set up for the gas victims does not have doctors. The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre is on the verge of closure due to shortage of doctors and other staff. It does not matter which political party runs a government, but none has a concrete plan for the sufferers.
