Background
The Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government has failed to implement a May 2004 Supreme Court directive instructing it to provide clean piped water to the 14 communities currently forced to consume water contaminated with poisons from Union Carbide’s abandoned factory. The whole affair reeks of yet another scam at the expense of the Bhopal victims. While the Government claims to be supplying 360,000 litres of water per day, the actual supply in August 2004 was a little over 42,000 litres per day, according to data collected by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. Mercury, chlorobenzenes and naphthalene are some of the deadly chemicals that were found at dangerous levels in the groundwater. Nearly 20,000 people, including gas victims and people who moved into the area after the disaster, are currently drinking this water because the Madhya Pradesh Government has failed to provide them with clean water. Already, reports indicate that the contamination may be causing an increased incidence of abdominal pain, giddiness, anemia, growth retardation among children, birth defects and skin problems among the 20,000 people exposed to the poisoned water.