Bhopal survivors march on New Delhi
Victims of 1984 disaster call for an independent commission to meet their needs.

In Video | ||
|
Protesters say the government has since protected chemical companies rather than uphold its promises, and are calling for an independent body to be set-up to assist the disaster victims.
“We want a commission on Bhopal and we want this mess gone,” Leela Bhai, a survivor, told Al Jazeera.
The disaster occurred on December 3, 1984, when a storage tank at the Union Carbide India pesticide plant in Bhopal spewed deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the air, killing more than 3,500 slum dwellers immediately.
“I remember the night of the gas leak like it was yesterday,” Leela said. “As we fled the city, there were bodies lying everywhere, bodies like dead insects.”
The toll has since climbed to more than 15,000, the government says.
But activists say the number of fatalities is double that and that up to 5,000 tonnes of toxic chemicals have leached into soil and water from the plant site, causing tens of thousands to be chronically ill.
According to local doctors, the majority of those seeking medical care in Bhopal are survivors of the leak suffering from chronic respiratory ailments, but children born long after the accident are also having problems.
The march route |
|
Mohammad Ali Qaiser, a Bhopal doctor, said “congenital deformities such as cleft palate, cleft lip and, of course, head circumference – sometimes very big or sometimes very low – and mental retardation” were common.