I happened to watch 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 on 26 September 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 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.

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 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 He seemed completely out of date with environmental policy making in our country and felt that the policy making has evolved since Bhopal (a section of the audience expressed its outrage)...he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 championed the negligence theory. He also informed of how the wind also played a role in the tragedy. He also was full of praise for India's environmental regulations, which he felt, has come a long way since Bhopal tragedy. He was in charge of plant safety until a year before the MIC [methyl isocyanate gas] leak.

This negligence theory 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 logbook before the tragedy was correct. After checking the logbook 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 logbook, 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. The constant reference to Bhopal being a Muslim city seems to be motivated in the aftermath of terrorist attacks world over.

At one place the Documentary made one human rights activist say that chemical industry has destroyed World Health Organization (WHO), which seemed irrelevant in the context of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. There were WHO officials like Alexander Von Hildebrand who is Regional Advisor for Chemical Safety in the audience who raised concerns about there being very few poison centers in such a vast country like India for dissemination of information about poisonous chemicals.

Many of the survivors of Bhopal disaster have suffered respiratory damage because of compromised immune or metabolic systems. In 1984, 24% of pregnant women exposed to isocyanide Bhopal explosion had spontaneous abortions, as against 6% in a comparison group, as per a WHO's July 2002 report.