Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
At least 15 victims of the deadly Bhopal gas tragedy have died after contracting the novel coronavirus. Despite them needing special care, families of the victims allege that no help was received from the government.
To make matters worse, the victims were asked to vacate the very hospitals which were made exclusively for them.
“On 21 March, Bhopal gas tragedy victims had told the government that they will suffer and might even die if they are not taken care of. We fear this. The victims’ immunity is anyway low and COVID-19 is affecting those who are already suffering from lungs- and heart-related issues or cancer.”Rachana Dhingra, Bhopal Group for Information and Action
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Families of the victims say the delay in test results and lack of information is causing anxiety.
“My father in-law died on 16-17 April. We still have not received his reports. They tested us but we still don’t know anything. They got us here and we are troubled. We are fasting but are not getting any support. We made multiple calls for the reports but still have not got his reports.”Gulnaz, Relative of a Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victim
They further alleged that the isolation facilities were in a dismal condition.
“The condition was pretty bad. In toilets and bathrooms, water supply was a mess. We were three families in there and were roaming around conveniently. We filled water from the same tanks because there was no other means. There was a tube well which stopped functioning and so the water could not reach the upper floors. We had to fill buckets of water. There were no sanitizers. We had to use only water. Whoever had soap used it.”Mohd Aussaf, A Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victim’s Son
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