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Bail for Union Carbide chief challenged

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NK SINGH Bhopal: A local lawyer has moved the court seeking cancellation of the absolute bail granted to Mr. Warren Ander son, chairman of the Union Carbide Corporation, whose Bhopal pesticide plant killed over 2,000 persons last December. Mr. Anderson, who was arrested here in a dramatic manner on December 7 on several charges including the non-bailable Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), was released in an even more dramatic manner and later secretly whisked away to Delhi in a state aircraft. The local lawyer, Mr. Quamerud-din Quamer, has contended in his petition to the district and sessions judge of Bhopal, Mr. V. S. Yadav, that the police had neither authority nor jurisdiction to release an accused involved in a heinous crime of mass slaughter. If Mr. Quamer's petition succeeds, it may lead to several complications, including diplomatic problems. The United States Government had not taken kindly to the arrest of the head of one of its most powerful mul...
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Carbide Men demand alternative jobs

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NK SINGH BHOPAL: A delegation of the Union Carbide Employees Union, led by Mr Madanlal Ranji, waited on the Chief Minister, Mr Motilal Vora, here on Saturday and presented a memorandum demanding alternative jobs for the Carbide employees. The union suggested that the Union Carbide factory should be nationalised so that jobs were guaranteed to the employees. The memorandum, according to a union press note, also suggested that instead of closing down the factory it should be converted into a non- hazardous products manufacturing concern. April 21, 1985 Indian Express
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MP government bans purchases due to financial crisis

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NK SINGH Bhopal:  The Madhya Pradesh Government has imposed a ban on all sorts of purchases in all departments in view of the alarming financial crisis existing in the state. The ban, it is reliably learnt. will remain in force till May 15. The ban, however, would not cover labour wages, salary, hospitals, hostels and essential services. According to official sources, circulars to this effect have been issued in view of the financial crisis Last week, the state Government was on the brink of bankruptcy as the cheques and bills issued by it were dishonoured by banks following the refusal of the Reserve Bank the overdraft to increase limit. April 25, 1985 Indian Express
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Famine, drought threaten MP

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NK SINGH Bhopal: The shadow of famine and death looms large over vast areas of Madhya Pradesh. Though there are no reports of  starvation deaths yet, a massive exodus of hungry farm workers and impoverished peasants has started from Chhattisgarh and the tribal districts of Dhar and Jhabua in West Madhya Pradesh. Reports, official as well as unofficial, reaching the state capital from districts paint a grim picture of desolution and destitution in the countryside. An erratic monsoon last year and almost total failure of winter rain have caused an unprecedented water scarcity in all the 45 districts of the state. Even more alarming is the apprehension in some circles that the drinking water scarcity may lead to an outbreak of epidemics. Every seventh village in the state suffers from an acute water crisis. Over 10,000 villages have been officially declared 'problem villages'. Residents of these villages have to walk to 10 km to get a pitcher of drinking water. The seriousness of ...
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Bhopal Gas Disaster commission calls for expediency

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NK SINGH Bhopal: Justice N. K. Singh who is heading the single-member judicial commission inquiring into the Bhopal gas leak disaster, on Friday appealed to participating parties, not to upon valuable time of the commission by making inter-locatory applications without much substance. "Such a course of action, if continued indefinitely, is likely to defeat or delay the main object of this commission," he remarked. Monetary compensation, he said, was a poor substitute for the loss of lives and whatever had to be done should be done as expeditiously as possible. Before adjourning the proceedings of the commission till May 15. Justice Singh also warned that constant vigilance would be necessary for a considerable period to ensure that any section of people, "particularly those in the ruling echelon", do not do anything which prima facie appears to be improper, unjust or unpalatable. The commission also ordered that three members of the Delhi Science Forum, who were on ...
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MP to provide mid day meals to 15 lakh kids

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NK SINGH Bhopal: The MP Government has prepared a plan to provide mid-day meals to 14.86. lakh tribal students in the age group of six to 14 years during the Seventh Plan The mid-day meals program was started in 1966 for students of the tribal welfare department schools in the age group of six to 14 years in 16 districts of the state. Three lakh students benefited from the program then. The number of beneficiaries has reached over eight now. The program has been implemented in all the 45 districts of the state now. There are 14,168 feeding centres April 18, 1985 Indian Express
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24 feared dead as bridge falls

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NK SINGH Bhopal: Over two dozen labourers, including women and children, were feared buried alive when a 40-foot span of a bridge under construction on a busy thoroughfare here collapsed on Monday. Special army and fire brigade rescue teams. helped by local volunteers, had rescued about six persons, including the construction contractor. from the debris by late night. Except the contractor, all of them are in a bad shape. The authorities were unable to say anything about the fate of the persons buried under the debris. It is feared that most of them were killed. Removing the debris was proving an uphill task although cranes were pressed into service. A crowd of over 5,000 persons had assembled around the collapsed bridge by late night. March 4, 1985 Indian Express
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Government slacking in gas victim matters

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NK SINGH The Madhya Pradesh Government appears to have forgotten that way back in December it had announced, with much fanfare, a judicial inquiry into the Bhopal gas leak disaster that had claimed over 2.000 lives. The terms of reference of the inquiry were announced on December 6, three days after the tragedy, and the single member commission, headed by Justice N. K. Singh of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, was asked to submit its report by March 15. The commission's report is no where in sight. In fact, it is yet to start its work in right earnest and its term has been extended till the end of June.  Justice N. K. Singh has accused the state government officials of non-cooperation. Earlier, when the press had criticized the delay in commencement of the inquiry, he had issued a statement pointing out that it was the delay on the part of the Government in providing the necessary working facilities which had hampered the functioning of the commission. On Wednesday, as the commission...
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Case against Karanth for bid to kill actress

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NK SINGH The Bhopal police on Sunday registered a case against Mr B. V. Karanth, director of the Madhya Pradesh Rangmandal, the state Government- backed repertory, in connection with the alleged attempt to murder a young and pretty actress of his troupe. The case, registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information), has caused a sensation in the town, particularly in cultural circles. Mr Karanth, a prominent theatre personality, once headed the prestigious National School of Drama. He is also chairman of the MP Film Development Corporation, a state government undertaking. The actress, 27-year-old Ms Vibha Mishra, received near-fatal burns at her residence in the exclusive Professors' Colony on Saturday afternoon. Mr Karanth was allegedly present in the house when the incident took place, eyewitnesses and neighbours told the police. Ms Mishra, whose condition was described by doctors, as "precar...
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Art bodies resent Jayakar's nomination

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NK SINGH With the Vibha-Karanth affair taking a backseat over time, attention is now shifting toward Bharat Bhawan, the sprawling lakeside cultural complex that employed both principal figures in last month’s highly charged controversy, which left Miss Vibha with 80% burns. On Saturday, the Bharat Bhawan management formally announced an inquiry into the institution, to be conducted by one of its trustees, Mrs. Pupul Jayakar. However, several cultural organizations in the city strongly opposed this decision, likening it to “asking a thief to catch a thief.” A press note issued on behalf of the Bharat Bhawan Trust stated that any person or organization wishing to file complaints against Bharat Bhawan could send them “directly in a sealed cover” to Mrs. Jayakar by June 15.  Around two dozen cultural and literary organizations in the city have reacted sharply to the decision, criticizing the appointment of a trustee to investigate the trust’s affairs. These groups have been demanding a...
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