Survivors of the 1984 gas leak protest at the Indian headquarters of Dow Chemical in Noida, New Delhi. Manish Swarup/AP/Press Association Images
Protest
Indian minister calls for Olympic boycott
Shivraj Singh Chauhan believes Dow Chemical, a company implicated in the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, has no place partnering organisers of the Olympic Games.
A PROMINENT MEMBER of the Indian cabinet has called for a boycott of the Olympic Games in protest at the status of Dow Chemical as on of the event’s eleven “Worldwide Partners”.
The company is, according to Shivraj Singh Chuahan, responsible for exaccerbating the suffering of the hundreds of thousands effected by the 1984 Bhopal gas leak, a landmark industrial disaster that left an indelible mark on Indian political and cultural life.
Considered one of the worst industrial accidents in history, the incident is estimated to have claimed as many as 15,000 victims in the years since an initial, catastrophic release of toxic chemicals rendered a huge swathe of the city uninhabitable.
In 1989, the company responsible for the pesticide plant at the heart of the accident, Union Carbide India Limited, agreed to pay $470million in compensation to the hundreds of thousands effected by exposure to the leak.
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A decade later, ICIL was acquired by Dow Chemical in a merger that critics hold responsible for halting ongoing attempts to decontaminate the region.
According to the BBC, Dow claims it “never owned nor operated the plant and legal claims surrounding the incident were resolved in 1989.”
Crucially, when it comes to the allocation of responsibility, the views of Dow Chemical appear to accord with Lord Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 committee.
“… at no time did Dow operate, own or were involved with the plant either at the time of the [1984] disaster or crucially at the time of the full and final settlement.”
The Indian sports ministry has yet to pass comment on the issue.
Indian minister calls for Olympic boycott
A PROMINENT MEMBER of the Indian cabinet has called for a boycott of the Olympic Games in protest at the status of Dow Chemical as on of the event’s eleven “Worldwide Partners”.
The company is, according to Shivraj Singh Chuahan, responsible for exaccerbating the suffering of the hundreds of thousands effected by the 1984 Bhopal gas leak, a landmark industrial disaster that left an indelible mark on Indian political and cultural life.
Considered one of the worst industrial accidents in history, the incident is estimated to have claimed as many as 15,000 victims in the years since an initial, catastrophic release of toxic chemicals rendered a huge swathe of the city uninhabitable.
A decade later, ICIL was acquired by Dow Chemical in a merger that critics hold responsible for halting ongoing attempts to decontaminate the region.
According to the BBC, Dow claims it “never owned nor operated the plant and legal claims surrounding the incident were resolved in 1989.”
Crucially, when it comes to the allocation of responsibility, the views of Dow Chemical appear to accord with Lord Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 committee.
The Indian sports ministry has yet to pass comment on the issue.
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Bhopal Bhopal Gas Disaster Dow Chemical India Olympic Games Protest Shivraj Singh Chuahan