These days a large number of gas victims are gathering at the office of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan. Everyone is trying to prove to the government and the Supreme Court that the victims of the gas tragedy of December 3, 1984, are still alive and the effects of gas are still poisoning their lives.
The Supreme Court is to hear the curative petition filed by the government and 5 organizations for additional compensation for the victims of the gas tragedy on October 11. The government has to present the correct figures in the court. The government seems to be negligent in this. In the last hearing held on 20th September 2022, the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that he is still waiting for the direction of the government.
Seeing the stand of the government, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan has started filling the form to get the medical records of the patients from the gas relief hospitals. Shahwar, the coordinator of the organization, says that if the government does not present the figures, then we will provide the correct figures of gas victims to the Supreme Court.
In the curative petition filed in 2010 in SC for additional compensation for gas tragedy victims, along with the Government of India, 5 gas victim organizations have also been made co-petitioners.
Gas victims not getting proper medical facilities
Gas victims in Bhopal are facing many problems even today, the absence of a doctor in the hospital and not getting the right treatment is one of the biggest issues in this and the second one is the fear among the people that the government will privatise gas relief hospitals soon.
Shahwar says that “gas victims already have smart cards of gas relief hospitals, but they are not being given proper treatment there, the government wants to merge gas victims with the Ayushman scheme, whose purpose is to shut gas relief hospitals for the victims.
What is Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan?
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan has fought for the rights of gas victims since the day of tragedy. The founder of the organization, Abdul Jabbar, lived in Rajendra Nagar, two kilometres from the Union Carbide Factory, when the Bhopal gas tragedy occurred on the night of 3 December 1984. So many of his family members lost their lives in this tragedy.
Abdul Jabbar, who was an eyewitness and survivor of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, continued to fight for justice for the gas victims for life. In 1988, Union Carbide had agreed to pay damages of Rs 705 crore due to a lawsuit filed by Abdul Jabbar in the Supreme Court.
He never took funds from any foreign institution or corporate house in this fight for justice. Instead, he chose the path of self-reliance, and he started giving sewing and embroidery training to the suffering women. He did not want a bailout for the gas victims, but employment.
Abdul Jabbar was the face of the battle of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. After he died in 2019, the responsibility of the organization was taken over by his sister Hamida Bi, who was walking shoulder to shoulder with Abdul Jabbar in this fight. Hamida Bi was no less than a messiah for the gas victims. Both the siblings themselves were gas victims and despite suffering from many diseases themselves, they kept fighting for the poor gas victims.
In the year 2020, Abdul Jabbar was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri award for his struggle to get justice for the Bhopal gas victims.
After the death of Hamida Bi, the responsibility of this organization now rests on the shoulders of Hamida’s son Shahwar.
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