Sunday, December 11 2005 14:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Twenty-one years after the Bhopal gas tragedy claimed over 2,260 lives and affected about two lakh people, the survivors are still battling it out in US courts for compensation and removal of hazardous waste from the Union Carbide's factory closed since December three, 1984.

In their latest move, the survivors have filed an appeal in the Second Circuit Court, New York against a District Court order rejecting their suit for damages against Dow Chemicals, the present owner of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).

"We are confident that the Court of Appeals will vindicate the rightness of our position and reverse the decision of the lower court in whole or in part," survivors' US attorney H Rajan Sharma told sources in an e-mail interview.

In an e-mail reply, Dow Chemicals' Accountability Network Coordinator Diana Ruiz said the company was aware of the appeal.

After a six-year battle in the American lower court, Justice John F Keenan rejected the suit observing "the court will not grant relief where it happens to be impossible and impractical.

"UCC now has no claims or connection with the property and has not had any control over it for several years. Ordering remediation by the defendants would be ineffectual as they have no means or authority to carry it out," he added.

Hasina Bi, one of the survivors, alleged in her suit that her well got polluted due to the leak of hazardous chemicals from the UCC factory.

Sharma urged Indian Government to extend support to the survivors' struggle, saying a little co-operation from Indian authorities can go a long way in getting them relief.

"There are a number of actions which the Government of India could take to support the victims which they have made submissions to the Court in the past and could do so in support of the appeal if they wished even now," he said.

"I would also appeal to the Government of India to co-operate with us in order to play a more active role in seeking redress for the innocent victims," Sharma said.

Asked about Dow Chemicals' plans to set up a new plant in Pune here, Sharma said Indian Government should make it clear to the company that it cannot conduct business in India 'as usual' until it addresses the outstanding environmental liabilities of Union Carbide Corporation.

"They (Government) could take the criminal charges pending against UCIL (Union Carbide India Ltd) since 1992 more seriously," he suggested. The struggle against the corporate giant is acquiring the status of a global fight against corporate accountability with various international NGOs and even US citizens expressing their solidarity.

This year, Seattle became the second US city after San Francisco to declare December three as Bhopal Remembrance Day.