Video Editor: Pawan Kumar
It was an ordinary December afternoon in Bhopal’s JP Nagar. The year was 1984. Meena Panthi, who was pregnant at the time, was serving dinner when her husband returned home from work. His blank face and vacant eyes relayed a bad news – one that has had a lasting impact on Meena's family.
A blast had occurred near her husband’s workplace. This was the Bhopal gas tragedy, which took place on 3 December 1984; and killed 3,787 people and affected more than 5.58 lakh people.
On 10 October, Meena, now 63 years old, reached Delhi to continue her 38-year-long fight for justice and just compensation. “I still remember what my husband said that day as I tried to get out of the house: ‘Don’t go. Bodies are strewn around like cats and dogs,’” she recalled, as she stood outside Delhi’s Nirman Bhawan on Monday afternoon.
Around 50 survivors and family members of victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, including Meena, reached Delhi a day before their petition asking for appropriate compensation is to be heard in the Supreme Court.
The Quint spoke to them about how their life was upended due to the tragedy, the almost four-decade-long struggle, and why they are in Delhi.
Roadblocks, Delays in Proceedings
The survivors reached outside Nirman Bhawan around Monday noon, and saw ample security arrangements. “We are only here to ask for our compensation, we are not here to fight. We don’t know why they have brought in so many policemen,” said Leelabai from Bhopal, who lost her two sons to the tragedy in 1984. They were children at the time.
According to Rachna Dhingra, an activist who has been working with the survivors, a representation to Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, dated 10 October, highlighted that the Centre had sought increased compensation from the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and its affiliates. The pesticide plant where the gas leak happened was owned by the UCC, an American chemical corporation under the Dow Chemical Company.
Many survivors only received a one-time payment of Rs 25,000. With hardly any means of income, they struggle to meet their daily expenses and are relying on compensation to get by.
The letter on behalf of the aggrieved families stated that when the curative petition was filed in 2010, the Centre had acknowledged that “irremediable injustice” was being suffered by the victims, and that the facts on which the settlement amount was arrived at was “completely incorrect and far removed from reality”.
According to The Hindu, the curative plea sought additional funds of over Rs 7,400 crore over and above the Rs 4,700 lakh already paid by the UCC. A curative petition is designed to correct judgments entered as a result of procedural judicial error.
In the curative petition filed in December 2010, the Union of India had stated that it "exclusively represents the victims so that the interest of the victims of the disaster are fully protected and that the claims for compensation are pursued separately, effectively and equitably."
The same letter to the minister, stated, "Despite this, to this day, the curative proceedings remain stagnant, and victims continue to suffer."
The Supreme Court order dated 20 September 2022, sought time till October 11 to "obtain instructions". It stated, "Learned Solicitor General would like to obtain instructions as to the stand of the Government insofar as the curative petition is concerned as the said petition has been preferred by the Union of India and the order so far passed are only for hearing of the curative petition in open Court."
The next hearing is scheduled for 11 October.
“We worry the petition will be withdrawn, that’s why we came to Delhi from Bhopal to speak to the minister to ensure that it’s heard,” said Shazida.
In the afternoon, those fighting on behalf of the survivors issued a statement, which said, “Officials of the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers today assured leaders of organisations of survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster that the government of India will continue to pursue the curative petition for additional compensations coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court tomorrow.”
Relieved, the group of 50 headed back to the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Connaught Place in Delhi, where they have been put up for the duration of their stay in Delhi. Still tense and nervous, they will be in the Capital till 11 October evening.
'Rs 25,000 Compensation is Not Enough'
Among those in attendance from Bhopal on Monday was 50-year-old Shazida Bi, a survivor of the gas tragedy. She was only 12 years old at the time of the tragedy. Now, she has three sons and a daughter.
"My sons take up odd jobs but cannot earn much because they get breathless easily. Our lungs are weak. A small task leaves us breathless. The sad fact is that our grandchildren are also born with the same issues. We are unskilled, uneducated and also unemployed. We need better compensation,” she told The Quint.
For survivor Leelabai, the trauma of 1984 never left, and continues to impact her daily life. “It’s tough to get women of our family married off. If they somehow do get married, then their in-laws get rid of them and say, ‘Tu toh gas wali hai, pehle apne ghar se paisa leke aa (you are a victim of the gas tragedy, get money from your home first)," said Leelabai.
Bhamribai Panthi was only 23 years old when the Bhopal gas tragedy ravaged her life. Her husband died, and left behind her son. “I got Rs 25,000 as compensation. This is all we have got in all these years. Tell me, is that amount enough?” she asked.
At the age of 61, Bhamribai has been dealt another tough hand in life. She lost two sons to COVID-19. “They’ve left behind their young children and their widows. With so many mouths to feed, we are now desperate,” she said. Bhamribai lives with her third son, her daughter-in-law, and their two children. None of them are employed.
We get tired quickly. No one could pull through that incident. There was no chance of living. Sabko gas lagi thi (everyone was affected by the gas),Bhamribai Panthi, a survivor
Sitara Bi, another survivor, is livid that she has spent the last 38 years running from one court to the other. “My husband and our five children were severely impacted. My husband and a son of ours passed away. Should I spend my time running after the government or trying to build a better life for us now?” she asked.
Meanwhile, Meena told The Quint that the aim of getting better compensation is to help their grandchildren lead better lives. “They can get educated. Our children did not have a very bright future but at least our grandchildren should. That’s all we want,” she said.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)