A Terrifying Tragedy

                     Akshaya B Raj   

                                       Third day of December 1984 dawned like any other day in Bhopal. As usual, every one went on their routine. Actually, it was not an ordinary day for Bhopal, an absolutely  black day. It was on that day the Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy, an industrial catastrophe occurred at the Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal. At that time UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of the U S company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) itself now a subsidiary of Dow chemical company. Around midnight on the intervening night, the plant released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins resulting in the exposure of over 500,000 people. Beyond them 8000 died within the first weeks and other 8000 have since died from gas related diseases. Though scientifically some reasons and explanations are there for the explosion, according to the mothers, wives, fathers, children who were expecting the pleasant presence of their beloveds and endears in their abodes, the cause of their favorite’s severance was not only gas made one but also the incursion of some evil fairies of the company. The incident made their mind as a nimbus just before a rain. Indeed, in the court of verity also this judgment got more hang than the scientific reasons. Dozens of their relatives were writhing in agony due to the explosion. Death was a welcome relief to those victims.

                                                Even after 25 years when hearing the name Bhopal the horrible, terrifying inhuman pictures are coming to our mind. Shattered human organs, skull of children, decayed dead bodies. Really an unbelievable reality! Even the disaster paved way for many economical and social crisis or problems, the unbalance originated in the minds of Bhopal manhood was much heavy than it. In short, Bhopal witnessed for an unexpected melt down. Defacto it happened by the carelessness of Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of disaster. Because of him, the Bhopal Mata lost her stream of humanity. Though the lost could not do anything on him until the last week, now after 25 years a court in Central India ruled that seven top executives and the company they worked for are guilty for their rule in the 1984 industrial disaster. The seven former employees

 ·  Keshub Mahindra, former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited

·  V.P. Gokhale, managing director

·  Kishore Kamdar, vice-president

·  J. Mukund, works manager

·  S.P. Chowdhury, production manager

·  K.V. Shetty, plant superintendent

·  S.I. Qureshi, production assistant

have been convicted and sentenced to punishment. The judge imposed a 2 year prison term and fine about 1 lack each after convicting the men of negligence causing death endangering public life and causing hurt. Really what an injustice ruling is this? Is the 2 year imprisonment and 1 lack/- fine is the reply for the value of 50,000 human life or the ache of 1 lack person’s endless tribulation or the burden of physical- mental weakness, which have been relayed through generations? Else, can it give back the thousands withered away before a quarter of years? Never. Then on what basis or humanistic concept the court had made such a verdict. At least we had to catch the corrupt Warren Anderson. Even I know his presence will not give back the faded lives, as human beings how we can suffer the luxurious life of a man who extinguished the breath of our amiable persons. Anyhow, the events in Bhopal revealed that the expanding industrialization in developing countries without concurrent evolution in safety regulations could have catastrophic consequences. The disaster demonstrated that seemingly local problems of industrial hazards and toxic contamination are often tied to global market dynamics. The tragedy of Bhopal continues to be a warning sign at once ignored and heeded. Bhopal and its aftermath were a warning that the path to industrialization for developing countries in general and India in particular is fraught with human, environmental and economic perils. The Indian economy is growing at tremendous rate but a significant cost in environmental health and public safety as large and small companies throughout the subcontinent continue to pollute. Far more remains to be done for public health in the context of industrialization to show that the lessons of the countless thousands dead in Bhopal have truly been heeded