Women singing at midnight to wake politicians to their duty.
Would you
demand that the officials rouse themselves from their slumber? Would you ask
that they carry out the orders handed down to them by the highest court in the
land? Would you expect them to take immediate action to stop this poisonous
trickle from contaminating your life, your family and your household?
That is
exactly what ordinary Bhopalis set out to do on the 17th of May 2005
– more than a year after the Supreme Court ordered the Madhya Pradesh
government to deliver clean water to areas in Bhopal where there’s only
contaminated water. With a searing hot summer already underway and the whole of
Bhopal facing a water crisis, the residents of the affected communities fear
that they will get even less water in the coming months. Many have children who
are sick from drinking contaminated water for years. This year, once again the
women of Bhopal decided that it was time to take the matter into their own
hands and shake the Government from its complacency – they launched the “Neend
Udao” (wake them from their stupor)
Campaign.
Over 300
residents of water-contaminated areas went to the office of the Director,
Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation, assembled peacefully and gave
vent to years of suffering and despair by chanting slogans and beating on steel
plates, calling on the officials to stop forcing them to drink poisoned water, and
provide adequate clean drinking water instead… “Zahar pilaana band karo, paani
ka prabandh karo!”
One would
expect a responsible government to at least provide these people a patient
hearing. Instead, it took immediate action… against the protestors. Riot police
were called out, and the community activists, a large number of women among
them, were beaten up before being dragged away and arrested.
Although
police brutality against activists is not new, especially in Bhopal, the extent
of force used against the Bhopalis is particularly shocking, as is the fact
that male police officers physically assaulted women and babies present at the
protest. Apart from the verbal abuse heaped on them by the policemen, the women
were beaten, kicked and clawed at, with at least five of the victims needing
hospitalisation due to grievous injuries. Those who attempted to stop the
police from beating the women were forcibly evicted, and spirited away from the
scene in police vehicles. Additionally, the protestors were falsely charged
with obstruction of official duty, illegal occupation, assault and causing
disorder – this for demanding what is recognised the world over as a basic
human right.
In response
to the Supreme Court order over a year ago, all that the State has done is to
put in place grossly inadequate ‘interim measures’. Water tanks have been
installed in some of the colonies, and are supposed to be filled on a daily
basis, but this depends on the whims of the water suppliers, and more often
than not, the water available is nowhere near the community’s minimum
requirements.
In April
2005, the Chairman of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous
Wastes had issued a letter exhorting the Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh to increase
the supply of water to 400,000 litres per day, to ensure that no communities go
without water supply, and to provide an affidavit on time-bound arrangements for
supply of water through pipelines to the affected areas.
But as residents
of the 14 affected communities point out, in April 2005, they have received
less than 14% of the amount of water they require. Women residing in Prem
Nagar, Shiv Nagar, Timber Market, Garib Nagar and Chandbadi said they had absolutely
no access to any alternate source of water and continued to depend upon local
contaminated ground water.
The police
brutalities of May 17 far from silencing the community activists, have resulted
in even more vocal support from many others around the world.
Speaking
out against the incident, civil society, human rights groups, environmental
groups and students’ associations from India and across the world have called
upon the Chief Minister of Bhopal to immediately:
1.
Implement the May 7 2004 Directive of the Supreme Court of India regarding
supply of clean water to the community whose groundwater continues to be
contaminated by chemical wastes from the Union Carbide factory site. The Chief Minister
must also submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court clarifying what permanent
arrangements will be made to ensure supply of water to the affected communities
as directed by the Chairman of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee.
2. Ensure
supply of 400,000 litres of clean water every day, ensure that the six
communities that presently receive no water at all are included in the water
distribution plan.
3. Withdraw
the false charges leveled against the activists and ensure an impartial inquiry
into the incident.
You
can add your voice to these demands by joining fax and phone-in actions immediately.
The weight of your actions will add to efforts by the ICJB (International
Campaign for Justice in Bhopal) to ensure that tens of thousands of ordinary Bhopali lives are lifted out of the
misery, sickness and indignity that the State visits upon them daily.
To participate in the fax action, the suggested letter
to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh can be found at http://www.bhopal.net/neendfax.html
You may also give the politicians a real “Wake Up
Call” and ask them to:
a) obey the Supreme Court’s order of May 2004
b) condemn the police brutality and take action
against those responsible and
c) drop trumped-up charges against peaceful
demonstrators
Their home numbers are at http://www.bhopal.net/neendudao.html,
together with a useful clock showing the current time in Bhopal. Please make
good use of it.
Pictures from the Neend Udao protests are at http://www.bhopal.net/neendpictures.html
A list of injured, including a 3 year old child, is on
the Opinion blog, http://www.bhopal.net/opinions/
Disclaimer: The “Wake Up!” call is an independent Bhopal.Net
initiative to support the “Neend Udao” protest. Pissed-off sleep-deprived
politicians should note that the people in Bhopal have not asked us to do it.
We are doing it because it seems right and proper. Bhopal.Net is a project of
the UK Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, which is a member of the ICJB. If you
are a politician who has been woken up by a phone call from a supporter on the
far side of the world, you may complain to 
Greenpeace is
neither responsible for, nor endorses, the content of external internet sites.
Neend Udao! Act Now!
Neend Udao! Act Now!