Bhopal: Fresh campaigns, including rallies and demonstrations against multinational companies, particularly soft drinks manufacturers, are being staged in Bhopal today (Dec 3, 2004) to mark the 20th anniversary of Bhopal gas disaster.

While organisations fighting for victims of the tragedy formulated plans to mount pressure on the Government to dispose of hazardous chemicals polluting water near the closed Union Carbide factory, a congregation of representatives from 47 organisations chalked out action against MNCs, specifically targeting the Pepsi Foods.

"We will mobilise 10 lakh persons to form human chains at 87 soft drink bottling plants across the country on January 20," Jain saint Vinay Sagar, a member of Dayodaya Parivar, fighting against the multinationals, told sources in Bhopal.

"Bhopal gas tragedy was visible as thousands of people died. The multinational companies are selling slow poison in the form of their products killing people every second," he alleged adding, "We will ask the people to stop the companies from converting the country into 'Bhopal'."

Apart from the Parivar and Azadi Bachao Andolan, forums like Centre for Science and Environment and Navdhanya Sanstha are, at present, actively protesting against foreign soft drinks manufacturers at 57 places. Character of multinational companies surfaced 20 years ago when thousands of people died as lethal methyl iso-cyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant due to absence of safety mechanism, Sagar added.