URL: http://www/PeaceNoWar.net
1) India: CALL FOR CLEAN WATER ON INTERNATIONAL WATER DAY
Clean Water for Bhopal Now!
From: rbodanyi@studentsforbhopal.org
20,000 Bhopalis are forced to drink water heavily contaminated by Carbide’s chemicals. Two decades later, the poisoning goes on.
Tuesday March 22nd, International Water Day: Demand Clean Water from the Indian Government
Join Bhopal survivors groups in demanding clean water. Call the Indian Government TODAY, MARCH 22ND (talking points are below). The Government has been responsive to pressure in the past (www.hindu.com/2004/06/24/stories/2004062408200100.htm) and you should expect a sympathetic and courteous response when you call. (Speak with the consulate nearest you--or with all of them for added impact).
----->Call the Indian Embassy in Washington DC at (202) 939-7065 and ask to register your comments with the press department.
----->Call the New York Consulate and leave a voicemail for the Consul of Press and Politics at (212) 734-4980 and/or email the Consul General of NY at cg@indiacgny.org. You can also fax directly to the Consul General at (212) 988-6423.
----->Call the Chicago Consul General's office directly at (312) 595-0412, and/or email the Consul General at cg@indianconsulate.com.
----->Call the San Francisco Consul General's office directly at (451) 668-0998, and/or email the Consul General at CG@Indianconsulate-sf.org.
----->Call the Houston Consul General's office directly at (713) 626-3153, and/or email the Consul General at cgi-hou@swbell.net.
----->If you are a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or Non-Resident Indian (NRI) call the office of the Ambassador-at-Large of PIOs and NRIs at (212) 478-7777 or email that office at Grievances@Indianambatlarge.com.
Note: The Government of India is generally most responsive to Indian-Americans, so if you are an Indian-American, please identify yourself as such.
Talking Points:
1) 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.
2) 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, itself a fraction of the need for 881,500 liters/day, the actual supply in February 2005 was a little over 125,000 litres per day--just 14% of the daily water requirement, according to data collected by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.
3) 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.
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Faxing the Indian government is also possible, though it’s less effective than calling. You can send a FREE FAX at http://bhopal.aidindia.org/waterwebfax.htm.
Please let us know that you participated and what response you received. You can do so by emailing Ryan at rbodanyi@studentsforbhopal.org.
For more information about the disaster or the campaign, please visit www.studentsforbhopal.org |