 Hello and welcome to NewsClick. 37 years ago, on this day, the people of Bhopal became the victims of the world's worst industrial disaster. On the night of 2nd December 1984, a massive cloud comprising deadly gases covered nearly two-thirds of the city. These lethal chemicals had entered the atmosphere due to exothermic reactions that took place at the Union Carbide India Limited's underground storage tank, which was filled with roughly 40 tons of methylisocyanite, a chemical that's highly reactive. The UCIL is a subsidiary of the Union Carbide Company, an American company. Immediately after the leak happened, around 8,000 people died. It was later unheard that the leak was preventable and happened only because Union Carbide decided to cut back on spending and maintenance to reduce their production cost. They did so. One, by laying off experienced and skilled workers and hiring cheap unskilled labour. Two, by cutting corners on safety measures and maintaining equipment. Three, by using unreliable technology. The then CEO of the UCC, Warren Anderson, was declared a fugitive in 1992 as he didn't appear in court. He was almost allowed to escape the country, never to return. Let us now talk about the condition. Union Carbide, which was later purchased by Dow Chemicals, continued to dump toxic waste around the factory ground for years, which poisoned soil and drinking water. To this day, the contaminated land hasn't been cleaned up and people who are too poor to move from there continue to reside on contaminated land. The government hospitals in Bhopal and the state are understaffed and do not have proper resources. As per the reports, 23% of the COVID deaths in Bhopal has been survivors of the gas leak. The government since then has failed to provide proper compensation to the survivors of the man-made disaster. The poison that leaked into Bhopal's atmosphere has afflicted generations of people manifesting in different kinds of diseases and birth defects. The children born with deadly diseases and defects never received any help from Union Carbide or government of India. Survivors are yet to receive justice. The actual number of deaths are unknown. Gas-related diseases haven't been treated properly as there is no access to the right medicine. People who lost the sole breadwinners of their families are demanding jobs. To remind the state and the central government of their promised duties towards survivors ahead of the 37th anniversary of the tragedy, four NGOs organized a campaign called Bhopal Disaster. 37 years, 37 questions. To deal with such cases, negligence seemed to be the new norm. The COVID crisis and higher number of deaths that were seen in Bhopal were a result of several instances of negligence on behalf of the government. The pro-corporate agenda of the government continues to put lives and livelihoods of the people in great danger. As the Bagjan Allfield of 2020 showed us. However, the people continue to resist being taken for granted and sacrificed for profit.