'Cloud over Bhopal', a short documentary based on Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro 's book "It was Five Past Midnight in Bhopal" at India International Centre (IIC) on 26/9/2004. The documentary has been made by Gondwana Films, a Spanish television company.

It seems to be a public relations exercise for the Chemical Industry with utmost emphasis on negligence theory for the Bhopal gas tragedy despite the fact that medical information on the leaked gases remains a "trade secret."

It talks about the enormous contribution of chemical industry for agricultural production. It does not pay any attention to the double standards and the issue of
corporate liability for the Union Carbide company responsible for world' worst industrial disaster in Bhopal.

Union Carbide's medical officer had said that the MIC gas leak was akin to tear gas and "All you need to do is wash with water"on the night of 84..."Cloud over Bhopal" lets the negligence theory gain credence.

The documentray was introduced by Sanjoy Hazarika, former New York Times journalist who referred to US law of Federal Right-to-Know, empowering individuals or groups to summon details of toxic material inventories and other records from companies that are storing, manufacturing or using such material. And he cited Europe's Seveso Directive which governs the transport and storage of hazardous materials.

His conclusion seemed strange and stark. Hazarika said, chemical spills and accidents will continue to happen because there are limits to technology and human capability. He seemed completely out of date with environmental policy making in our country and felt that the policy making has evolved since Bhopal (a section of the audience expressed its outrage)...he referred to CNG etc with no relevance.

Kamal Pareek, a former Union Carbide employee (1971-83) who was also in the panel at IIC championed the negligence theory. He was in charge of plant safety until a year before the MIC [methyl isocyanate gas] leak. He informed the audience about how the wind also played a role in the tragedy. He was full of praise for India's environmental regulations which he felt has come a long way since Bhopal tragedy.

This negligence theory of Pareek has been debunked by none other than K Tejeshwar Rao, a former Union Carbide employee, who was production assistant with the company at the time of Bhopal gas disaster in December 1984. He has informed the local court that the entry in the log book before the tragedy was correct. After checking the log book, that the Vent Gas Scruber (VGS) of the plant was not functioning since October 30 to November 25, 1984 as per the record. Even on November 28, 1984 VGS was not functional about which a note was written in log book, he has informed the court.

The documentary is a mixture of fact, fiction and supernatural elements...it referred to a sage who although he did breathe (did not breathe) MIC on the fateful night survived because of his Yogic powers. At one place the documentary does mention someone saying, chemical industry has destroyed WHO. There were WHO officials in the audience who expressed concern about how India has just nine poison centres.

The documentary does not refer to any of the following dubious studies. In April 1990, Union Carbide had commissioned the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to study the contamination arising from the plant. NEERI produced a report finding that no groundwater contamination had been caused by the solar evaporation ponds.

The report concluded that: the soil within 2.5 km of the solar evaporation ponds was not contaminated by the ponds; the water in the test wells outside the area of the ponds was within drinking water standards; the water quality of water tested within a 10km radius of the plant indicated no contamination from the ponds.

At present the BJP Government in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh is headed by Babulal Gaur who was misled by Union Carbide about the value of the first NEERI report in 1990, when Gaur was Minister for Gas Relief.

n October 1997, NEERI issued a report finding contamination within the former Union Carbide plant, specifically in its waste disposalareas, but found no groundwater contamination outside the plant.

At present Gaur government has Umashankar Gupta, former Mayor of Bhopal as his Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation minister who claims to be working to ensure that the entire city is deemed "affected" by the 1984 methyl isocyanate (MIC) leak.

The initial survey on the after-effects of the gas leak done by The Journal of Post-Graduate Medicine reported 1,07,249 were disabled and 60,000 others were severely disabled in the incident.

The issue of Union Carbide's corporate liability is still to be seriously addressed in India. People can be punished if they enter a person's house illegally. In this case, dangerous chemicals have entered our food chain and the body. This is criminal trespass, and the case on criminal liability must carry on till its logical conclusion.