Bhopal disaster victims stage hunger strike for higher compensation

Victims of the Bhopal gas disaster began a hunger strike in the Indian capital on Monday, demanding increased compensation ahead of the 30th anniversary of the tragedy next month. 

On the night of Dec. 2, 1984 a pesticide plant run by a Union Carbide subsidiary leaked about 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the air of the Indian city of Bhopal, killing about 4,000 people. Many more died in the following months, bringing the estimated death toll of the worst industrial disaster in history to 15,000.

On Monday, about 100 protesters gathered in New Delhi and held signs that read "Justice for Bhopal." The crowd was mainly women and children, many of whom suffer from deformities and illnesses and still live near the now-defunct plant.

Bhopal activist Satinath Sarangi said a handful of the protesters would fast indefinitely in the hope of attracting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attention to the plight of the victims.

"We have come here with the hope that the present government led by Mr. Modi will correct the wrongs done by the previous government and ensure gas victims are given extra compensation," he told the crowd.

"I remember covering my face and my children's, just grabbing them and running," said Premlata Chaudhary, who lost one of her six children in the disaster. Chaudhary, who suffers from respiratory and stomach problems, said her $406 in compensation from the company was finalized 15 years after the disaster.

Eight Indian executives of Union Carbide, the American company that owned the factory, have been found guilty of negligence. Recent demands for justice have focused on bringing Warren Anderson, then chief executive of the company, to trial for culpable homicide, but he died in September in the United States at the age of 92.

Still, victims say they will continue to seek justice. 

"The death of one culprit doesn’t mean the fight is over,” Rashida Bi told Al Jazeera. “The company is still alive. Dow Chemicals is still in operation. It needs to accept responsibility for what happened in Bhopal, and the Indian government should help us.” Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide in 1999.

The protesters on Monday demanded the Modi government attempt to speed up legal action for greater compensation. 

The Indian government in 2012 filed a petition in the country's Supreme Court asking for higher compensation from the company. A settlement reached in 1989 set the total compensation at $470 million.

Dow Chemical has been summoned to appear in a Bhopal court on Nov. 12 and insists that all of the company's liabilities were settled in the 1989 agreement.

Al Jazeera and AFP. Nidhi Dutt contributed to this report from New Dehli.