Bhopalis Return Home, but still need your support
Please read this whole statement to supporters here, and visit http://www.bhopal.net/dharna2010/ to find out how you can help.
Dear Bhopal campaigners and supporters,
We have decided to suspend the dharna (sit in protest) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi and are back in Bhopal. The dharna we started on April 15 succeeded in getting things moving with regard to the reconstitution of the Group of Ministers on Bhopal (GoMB) which is the final decision making authority with regard to issues on the Bhopal disaster. The negligent attitude of the Indian government towards the continuing disasters in Bhopal is evident from the fact that the GoMB that had approved the draft of the Empowered Commission on Bhopal (ECoB) in 2008 has not been reconstituted after the elections of 2009. We hope that the concerned officials in the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers (the nodal Ministry on the Bhopal disaster) will follow up on the letter that they have sent out in response to our recent protests in Delhi and that the GoMB would be reconstituted in six to eight weeks time.
The other big reason for suspending the dharna at Jantar Mantar is that unlike earlier years, we and other protestors were not allowed to put up tents to protect ourselves from the scorching sun. As a result quite a few children and adults suffered heat strokes. Unlike other years we and other protestors had to vacate the protest site at 6 in the evening. We were not able to find free/affordable accommodation for more than 80 people, which restricted the number of people participating in protest and direct action.