BHOPAL, 12 August 2005 — To mark the 63rd anniversary of the “Quit India Movement,” four organizations representing survivors of the 1984 gas tragedy in Bhopal launched the “Accept Responsibility for Bhopal or Quit India” campaign against American multinational Dow Chemical, current owner of Union Carbide Corporation.
Hundreds of broom wielding women from 18 localities, where ground water has been poisoned by Union Carbide’s chemical waste, held a rally outside the abandoned Union Carbide factory.
Goldman award winner Ms. Rashida Bi of Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Stationary Karmachari Sangh demanded that Dow Chemical clean up the hazardous waste. Dow should also pay compensation for the health and property damages caused by this toxic contamination, she added.
The leader pointed out that while Union Carbide Corporation continues to abscond Indian courts, it also continues to sell its products in India through a Bombay-based company called Mega Visa: Marketing Solutions Ltd. This could not be possible without the connivance of the government of India, she stressed.
Leaders of the survivors at the rally declared that they would not allow government scientific agencies to move hazardous chemical wastes from the factory for burning in an incinerator or burial in a landfill. They said that both these disposal technologies would further poison the environment and affect the health and lives of people in Gujarat and in Pithampur.
Speakers at the rally including Syed Mohammad Irfan, Hajra Bi and others, who reiterated the theme that while the domination of “East India Company” ended in 1947, today the country is being enslaved by multinational corporations.
The speakers said there was need for revival of the spirit of the Quit India Movement for the second battle — the battle for freedom from the domination and pollution by multinationals.
