Supporting the cause of Bhopal gas tragedy victims and demanding adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the survivors, members of People for India forum on Tuesday launched a month-long signature campaign in the city.
Inaugurated by prominent citizens, the signature campaign will go on till August 8 after which a memorandum would be submitted to the President, forum convenor T. Sudeendra Rao said.
“We are of the firm opinion that the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy are still groping in the dark without any compensation or rehabilitation even after 25 years. The culprits — Union Carbide, Madhya Pradesh Government and the Government of India — have become insensitive to the loss of human lives,” he said.
Expressing displeasure that even the judiciary had not come to the rescue of the victims, forum member N. Nagaraj said: “A sum of Rs. 713 crore has been awarded as compensation for 5,74,319 survivors (as per official estimates). This means each survivor will get as much as Rs. 12,413 as compensation. Is this not unfair?”
The members demanded that the Centre immediately file an appeal against the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict. The other demands included provision of safe drinking water, proper medical facilities and schools for children of the survivors.
