ON the surface, the city of Bhopal ap­pears normal. It seems to have weathered the host of problems wrought by the world's worst industrial disaster. But, a visit to the gas-hit areas shows that all is not well. The vacant stare of the survivors is a give away that their lives have been beset with mental and physical sufferings.

It proved to be a fatal accident for Mohammad Ashraf Khan, a plant operator at Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal. On 24 December 1981 he was asked to replace a defective flange connecting two pipes, a routine maintenance operation in the phosgene- manufacturing unit. But no sooner had he removed the flange than the deadly

In their latest bid to escape from being labeled as the perpetrators of the world's largest industrial disaster in Bhopal, Union Carbide Corporation Limited has said that the accident was actually an act of sabotage by a disgruntled employee.Carbide has been indulging in periodic attempts to eyewash the public since the tragedy which killed over 2,000 people and injured four lakh others.

Independent investigations have revealed that Union Carbide was well aware of the hazards of MIC production in its Bhopal plant. Way back in 1979, a team of safety auditors, which had come to examine the safety methods of the plant, had recommended to the management that an evacuation plan be kept ready for the people residing in the neighborhood.

“As events unfold, I believe that people everywhere will become convinced of two things about our corporation: First that our operations and technology are in the hands of competent managers who care about their responsibilities and about their fellow men. Second that Union Carbide has substantial strengths, which are helping us now and will add value to the corporation in the years ahead”

It was not the auditors from the US alone, who, alarmed by the inadequate safety measures at Union Carbide. Sounded a warning on the issue. The internal safety audit reports of the local auditors contain similar observations as well.On the December 7, 1981. An internal audit was conducted by a team which consisted of Mr. Warren Woomer, Mr. B.S. Rajpurohit, and Mr. N.T. Parakh and Mr. Ballal.

Things are moving according to the wishes of Union Carbide. Though the closure of the factory, which took place on July 11, is being considered victory by the common man, it fits well with Union Carbide’s plans. A report prepared in November 1984, reveals that Carbide was planning to shift four the five plants of this factory to other countries.

That day a strange turning fog suddenly on London. People started turning breathless under this cloud and thousands of helpless persons died a choking death. This was happening of December 1952 when, for three days continuously, a hazardous fog lay over this most industrialised of cities. The same havoc had been

The story of the multinational, Union Carbide, which converted Bhopal into a gas chamber on Monday, December 3, goes back to 1979 when the plant commenced manufacturing carbonates. Hazardous chemicals like phosgene, chlorine, carbomonoxide and methyl isocyanate were used in the process.

A year ago this week, the central Indian city of Bhopal died in its sleep. At least 2000 are thought to have perished and 200,000 more were affected when a lethal gas, known as methyl isocyanate, leaked from the Union Carbide plant on the outskirts of old Bhopal and swept over the city in a four-knot northwesterly breeze. It need never have happened if the warnings of one man, journalist Rajkumar Keswani, had been heeded.As the massive legal ramifications of the disaster are discussed, Bhopal’s drama continues.
E.J. Dunfee reports.