Survivors of the Union Carbide gas leak disaster in Bhopal launched a unique campaign on Tuesday to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
They sent images of children pleading for medical care and rehabilitation to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister through Twitter.
On December 2, 1984, leakage of poisonous gas from the Union Carbide chemical plant resulted in the death of thousands.
The campaign named “paanch guhaar” (five requests) will focus on the issues of rehabilitation, justice and adequate compensation.
Led by the Bhopal Group of Information and Action, the campaign involves four other organisations.
Campaign till Dec 3
“Moving images of children pleading for medical care, social and economic rehabilitation, adequate compensation, punishment of the culprits and cleaning up of lingering poisons in soil and groundwater were sent through Twitter to the two leaders [Mr. Modi and Mr. Chouhan] by a team of cyber activists from the younger generation of survivors,” said a release issued by the organisations.
The campaign which will continue till December 3, 2017 — the 33rd anniversary of the Union Carbide gas leak disaster — will also carry portraits of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to the areas where groundwater has become poisonous with hazardous waste released from the Union Carbide factory.
