Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal tragedy should be made election manifesto
Nuclear war is not the only way the world would end. India has realised damage of that scale can be caused by other things too through the 1984 Bhopal tragedy.
Earthquake in tsunami Kendrick havoc, the damage can be intensified by man made disasters as well. dangerous looking right around the corner in every country that has a nuclear reactor in its premises. Hiroshima and Nagasaki disaster result of massive war related cruelty. Batman who should be held responsible for tragedies like that of Bhopal? it has been 34 years since the gas tragedy took place claiming thousands of life and a few generations of children being born with disabilities result of inhaling the poisonous gas by the mothers. People are still bearing the brunt of this tragedy and are paying through their future for this. Yet no culprit has been arrested or no one has been held responsible for this inhuman incident.
When the incident took place in 1984 about 10,000 people were killed as a result. Mother dance of death has not stop ever since. People still die as a result of that gas leakage.
Everyday at least five people feel the impact of that incident till date. Methyl isocyanate gas the delete on the night of 2nd and 3rd December in 1984 claimed lives of 10,047 people in one go when it leaked from the premises of a factory that manufacture pesticides.
As per the statistics 5,47,000 people were affected by this leakage. This data has been put together by the Madhya Pradesh government. As per their sources, more than 15,000 people have paid through their lives subsequent to that.
In the last 34 years since the incident many elections have come and gone. streets of Bhopal a resonating with election rallies and people are expecting a new government to come into power by December this year. Unfortunately no party has ever made this an election manifesto so far. The BJP is trying to win this election by feeding communal poison to people. but no party, including BJP, has ever dared to discuss the issues of those affected by the gas tragedy so far.
What is interesting is, Bhopal gas tragedy rehabilitation and relief Minister Anil Sarang himself was affected by the incident. That has not been able to add much quality to the lives of survivors.
On one hand there is a pain of Bhopal gas tragedy culprits going scot free; and on the other, the survivors are living a life of punishment. They are forced to fight two battles.
on one hand the health complications are very high and on the other they are still fighting for a relief amount from the government.
After the election dates were announced, the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy met and decided to support a candidate would help them get Rs 5 lakh as relief money. Bhopal group for information and action, Bhopal gas peedit nirashrit pensionbhogi sangharsh morcha and Bhopal gas peedit mahila stationary karmachari sangh are working to provide relief and rehabilitation for the victims of gas tragedy.
According to them, if the candidates can make this a part of their official election manifesto, this would be their commitment and a legal recourse is possible of they do not heed to their words.
A criminal callousness has been exhibited in killing that one of the biggest man-made human tragedies of the world.
Victims have not been provided with medical aid legal or financial assistance in fighting the battle.
None of the projects that would dispose off the poisonous chemicals that are polluting the groundwater resources took off really.
None of the politicians are interested in helping the victims.
According to them the Bhopal Gas tragedy victims do not play any significant role in winning the elections.
Even politicians understand winning elections is going to be very difficult if the contest with lofty social commitments. Hence they have taken to elections with emotional issues.
As the date of election is approaching, hoardings and banners have come up in areas where gas tragedy victims live such as Kazi camp, DIG overbridge, JP Nagar, Shahjahanabad and Jahangirabad etc.
The victims have come together to create a formidable political force. This is a promising development. What remains to be seen is how seriously would the political parties take this issue. Because, for politicians, Bhopal tragedy is a bygone incident. They do not deem it important to refer to it again after over 30 years of its occurrence.
There are seven constituencies in Bhopal. High number of victims live in Narela and North Bhopal areas. About 80-90% people have been directly affected by the tragedy.
There are considerable number of families and survivors and their families in Bhopal central and Huzoor areas. They are suffering from the aftermath of the incident.
About 40% inhabitants here are the survivors of the tragedy and their number is massive enough to have an impact on the outcome of the elections.
Berasia constituency is considered as extension of the rural area of Bhopal. Many residents of this place are those who migrated from Govindapura other parts of Bhopal. At least this time around, Bhopal tragedy should become a topic of discussion and manifesto to ensure the victims are done justice.
There are hundreds of Bhopal's all over the country and they may render some tragedy or the other some day. If we don't learn our lessons from Bhopal tragedy, we may be forced to pay a big price for our ignorance later. Hence, while serving some justice to the Bhopal victims, the govt should also look at ways of avoiding such disasters.
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Inappropriate for MLAs seeking free IPL tickets, says D.K. Suresh
Bengaluru: Bengaluru Milk Union Ltd President D.K. Suresh on Monday said it is inappropriate for MLAs to seek free IPL tickets, adding that those interested in watching matches should pay for them personally.
Speaking to reporters near his residence in Sadashivanagar, he said, “IPL is a commercial tournament and does not represent the country. It is not right for public representatives to focus too much on such matters.”
Referring to the recent controversy during the RCB celebrations, he said, “let us find out who benefited the most from the statements made during the incident.” He also pointed out that BJP MLAs had received IPL tickets as well.
Responding to discussions about relocating the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Suresh said the government has already approved the construction of a new stadium at a location he had proposed.
“I had suggested building a stadium in Surya City and submitted a proposal for it. Bengaluru needs four stadiums in four directions to cater to its growing population and encourage youth participation in sports,” he said.
He noted that apart from Kanteerava Stadium, KSCA, and the Football Stadium, there are limited facilities in the city.
“When I was a Lok Sabha member, I had proposed allocating 100 acres in my constituency at Surya City. The land was later earmarked and the plan approved,” he added.
Suresh said he has discussed the project with Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Chairman Shivalingegowda, and Anekal MLA Shivanna.
“The Cabinet has now approved the project, and a stadium will be developed on around 50–60 acres,” he said.
He further added that he has requested the Deputy Chief Minister to build another stadium at Shivarama Karanth Layout through the BDA, where 40 acres have been allocated. Plans are also being discussed to develop a well-equipped stadium in Bidadi.
Commending state government's recent bilingual policy move, Suresh said forcing children to learn three languages could affect their comprehension.
“It is a good decision to make two languages compulsory. Learning a third language should be left to the choice of students and parents,” he said.
Responding to criticism from BJP leaders, he said their tendency is to oppose every decision of the government.
“To please their central leadership, they take a pro-Hindi stance. Instead, they should advocate for the adoption of Kannada in all states,” he said.
When asked about the earlier three-language policy under Congress, he said, “the situation is different now. Today, the focus should be on quality learning. Kannada should remain the primary language, while students and parents can choose an additional language.”
