40th Anniversary Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Decades On, Survivors’ Struggle For Medical Care Sees No End

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Forty years on, the struggle of the Bhopal Gas tragedy survivors shows no sign of ending as they along with their children continue to move from pillar to post for much-required medical care. The gas victims, suffering the effects of Union Carbide's gas disaster, continue to experience health issues including respiratory, neurologic, febrile illnesses, psychiatric and ophthalmic. The government has time and again reiterated its commitment to ensure best of medical care to the survivors at their state-run hospitals, however in most of these facilities posts of super-specialties and specialists are lying vacant.

While at AIIMS, the ace medical institute of the country, has all the specialists to provide the required health care, the Gas Tragedy survivors have three to four months of waitlist.   There is hardly any improvement in the status of the existing vacancies as almost 45-50% posts of Super-Specialist/Specialist and Medical Officers in State Government hospitals continue to remain vacant.

Hospitals run by the State Government under Gas Relief and Rehabilitation, Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) run by central government under ICMR have been designated to provide state-of-the-art super-specialty medical facilities to all registered gas victims and their entitled dependents. According to the Supreme Court’s monitoring committee report submitted in High Court, most of the super specialist posts - Associate Professor, Asst Professor and Consultant - are lying vacant; while a few have been filled on contractual basis. Similarly in case of vacancy of specialist, out of 7 posts of Medical Specialist, only 02 are filled; out of 5 posts of Anaesthetics only 2 have been appointed. No appointments have been made so far on sanctioned 4 posts of Surgical specialist and 4 posts of Radiologists. 

Besides, around 34% posts of medical officers (Class II) are also lying vacant. The monitoring committee in its report to the High Court  had highlighted several deficiencies in the provision of medical treatment and assistance to Gas victims. The Committee  has directed all concerned agencies in the Union government, State of Madhya Pradesh, Empowered Monitoring Committee, Advisory Committee, ICMR, NIREH, BMHRC and all other Government or non-government departments/ agencies involved in the implementation of Relief and Rehabilitation Programme and research activity, to carry out the above directions expeditiously and without demur and default.