On the eve of the International Yoga Day, survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal called for an end to the denial of yoga therapy to chronic patients at the hospitals meant for them. Holding different yoga postures in front of an abandoned yoga centre, the survivors, many with chronic illnesses, drew attention to the misutilisation of public money in the name of yoga by the State Government.
The survivors’ action was led by five local organisations that have been fighting for long for proper treatment of chronically ill survivors. Aware of the ill effects of taking symptomatic medicines, the organisations have been campaigning for introduction of yoga therapy at the six gas relief hospitals that are meant to serve over half million people exposed to poisonous gases in December 1984.
“To start with, in February 2007, we had to sit on a 19-day fast to convince the Government to start Yoga therapy in the hospitals meant for gas victims. Eventually it was only started in 2 hospitals and only for part of the time”, says Rashida Bee of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh.
According to Balkrishna Namdeo of Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha, in a little over two years more than 2000 gas patients reported relief through Yoga therapy for problems such as breathlessness, joint pains, back ache, menstrual irregularities, insomnia and others chronic ailments without taking steroids, painkillers and psychotropic medicines. Despite this, he said, in 2009 the BJP government arbitrarily closed down Yoga treatment in gas-relief hospitals.
Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information & Action said “Most of the state government’s hullabaloo on Yoga is but a charade. Its officials and ministers are too busy earning commissions on purchase of medicines and building of Yoga centers to be actually using Yoga to benefit the victims of the world’s worst industrial disaster still awaiting proper medical treatment.”