It was only Rs 1,000 per person each month. However, Since December 2019, more than 5,000 women who lost their spouses in the 1984 Bhopal gas catastrophe, one of the world’s greatest industrial disasters, have not received even that little sum as a subsistence stipend.
The Union (75%) and state governments shared the cost of the pension, which was authorised by a Centre ministerial committee in 2010. (25 per cent). It began at $500 per month and was subsequently increased to $1,000.
The Bhopal district magistrate received a sum of 35 crore from the Centre for this purpose. The state government, on the other hand, halted payments for no apparent reason from April 2016 and November 2017, only to resume them in December 2017.
The Congress-led Kamal Nath administration halted it once more in December 2019.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan administration of the BJP does not appear to have made any steps to restart payments.
“It was a callous choice since Congress exclusively backed the wealthy…
We’re attempting to start it (compensation) as soon as possible “Last August, Madhya Pradesh’s Minister for Bhopal Gas Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation, Vishwas Sarang, stated. In December 2020 and January 2021, he reaffirmed the pledge.
He told NDTV in March that the state government had established a financial allocation and that payments will resume shortly.
Last year, on the 36th anniversary of the sad tragedy, Chief Minister Chouhan said that a memorial will be constructed to honour those who died. He also declared that the pension will be reinstated.
So far, nothing has occurred.
Nanda Bai, 62, is one of the hundreds of people who have been protesting the pension freeze. The $1,000 came in handy when she had to care for her kid who had been in an accident. “I don’t have someone to look up to. My kid was involved in a car accident. I’m unable to see well. There is no job available, “she stated
Shakeela Bi, who is 75 years old, claims she hasn’t received her monthly rations.
“These politicians make false promises. What to do? I have one meal a day. It’s been almost two years, they have money for roads and fountains, not for poor people,” she said.
During the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, lethal methyl isocyanate spilled from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory on the city’s outskirts, killing over 15,000 people and affecting over five lakh more.
