Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy expressed concerns over the Madhya Pradesh government’s plan to move the emergency ward for gas victims from Kamala Nehru Hospital. They fear this relocation could impact the specialized healthcare services they receive and raise safety issues. Four organizations representing gas survivors held a protest at the hospital, urging the state government to reconsider the proposed shift.
Rashida Bi, a leader of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Karmchari Sangh, voiced worries about the government’s decision to relocate the emergency ward to the radiology section of Hamidia Hospital. She emphasized the importance of ensuring that any changes in treatment facilities for gas survivors meet all necessary safety standards before implementation. The organizations protesting claimed that the relocation plan lacked an independent radiological safety assessment and did not align with the approval guidelines of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
Protesters highlighted that the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee had raised objections to the proposed relocation in a communication to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Gas Relief Department. Rashida Bi advocated for establishing the PET-CT facility at Gandhi Medical College, as originally planned, emphasizing the need for stringent safety assessments and official approvals before relocating healthcare services for gas victims. The organizations demanded the continuation of the emergency ward at Kamla Nehru Hospital and insisted on thorough safety assessments before any construction related to the PET-CT facility.
