102 survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy died of Covid-MP Govt

On the eve on the 36th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh government said on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of 102 survivors of the 1983 Bhopal gas tragedy since its outbreak. However, according to PTI report,some NGOs claimed that as many as 254 survivors of the Bhopal disaster have succumbed to the infection till now.

"Till December 2, Covid-19 has claimed 518 lives in Bhopal district. Of them, 102 are Bhopal gas tragedy survivors. Out of these 102 people, 69 were above 50 years of age, while the remaining 33 were aged below 50," Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Director Basant Kurre told the agency. However, Rachna Dhingra of NGO Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) claimed, "As per the state's health bulletin, 518 people have died due to Covid-19 in Bhopal district so far. We visited the houses of 450 of these deceased to find out whether they were gas victims or not. Out of these 450 people, 254 were found to be the Bhopal gas tragedy survivors."

"These 254 victims possessed smart cards that were issued by the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center (BMHRC), a dedicated facility for the treatment of gas victims. They also had the photocopy of the Bhopal gas tragedy compensation order with them," Rachna Dhingra said. She alleged that the state government does not have a full record of those Bhopal gas tragedy survivors who died of Covid-19 infection. On the basis of the documents it was established that the death rate of gas victims due to coronavirus was 6.5 per cent, which is more than the other infected persons, she said.

The Bhopal gas tragedy, termed as the world's worst industrial disaster, took the lives of over 15,000 people after methyl isocyanate leaked on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) in the city. More than five lakh people were affected due to the toxic leak.