Bhopal: Hundreds of survivors of the deadly 1984 Bhopal gas leak held a "Special Olympics" on Thursday with children suffering birth defects in an effort to shame Olympic sponsor Dow Chemical Co. on the eve of the London Games.
Survivors say Dow owes them compensation for the world's worst industrial disaster and have campaigned to have the chemical giant dropped as a sponsor of the Olympics. Dow says it has no liability because it bought the company responsible for the plant more than a decade after the cases had been settled.
All sides acknowledge that what took place on the morning of December 3, 1984, in this central Indian city was a tragedy. A pesticide plant run by Union Carbide leaked about 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the air, killing an estimated 15,000 people and affecting at least 500,000 more, according to government estimates. Activists say thousands of children have been born with brain damage, missing palates and twisted limbs because of their parents' exposure to the gas or to contaminated water.
Having failed to get Dow's Olympic sponsorship quashed, Bhopal activists carried through with their threat to hold their own "Olympics" to showcase the devastation caused by the gas leak....
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02:00 PM, Jul 26, 2012
London: London politicians called on Olympic officials to rethink their sponsorship contract with Dow Chemical on Wednesday, saying the company's links to the 1984 Bhopal disaster damaged the reputation of this month's Games. Members of the London Assembly, the body which oversees the work of the capital's mayor, said London Olympic organisers (LOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should give more weight to environmental, social and ethical records of...
08:21 AM, Jul 12, 2012
Midland, Michigan: The Dow Chemical Company will cut 900 jobs and shutter plants on three continents because of weakness in Europe, which may soon tip back into recession of it has not done so already. Dow was ravaged during the global and economic crisis that struck four years ago, cutting more than 10,000 positions then. CEO Andrew Liveris has aggressively sought to keep the company, the nation's largest chemical maker,...
08:28 AM, Apr 03, 2012
New Delhi: Clarifying that the government has not asked athletes to boycott the London Olympics over the Dow Chemicals sponsorship, Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday said that the matter has been pursued at a diplomatic level with the host nation. "India has not asked its athletes to boycott the London Olympics over Dow Chemicals sponsorship," Maken said in response to a question by NK Singh in the Rajya Sabha....
04:42 PM, Mar 29, 2012
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would be "very sad" if India boycotted the London Olympics following the row over sponsorship of the event by Dow Chemicals, linked to the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984. "It would be a very sad day," he told Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate programme on CNN-IBN when asked about a possible boycott by India of the London Olympics. Here is the full...
06:06 PM, Mar 11, 2012
Even as Akhilesh Yadav claims his father Mulayam will be the UP CM, clamour within SP has been growing for Akhilesh. ...
11:15 PM, Mar 07, 2012
After a spectacular victory of his party, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is all set to become the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. ...
10:12 PM, Mar 07, 2012
New Delhi: International Olympic Committee has written to the Sports Ministry saying it cannot drop Dow Chemicals as a sponsor of the London Olympics 2012. In its letter accessed by CNN-IBN, IOC said, "Dow had nothing to do with Union Carbide when the Bhopal gas leak happened." "Indian Supreme Court itself has reviewed the case involving Dow several times," it added. The Sports Ministry had written to the IOC last...
08:55 PM, Mar 07, 2012
New Delhi: Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken has said that Dow Chemicals must not be allowed to sponsor London 2012 Olympics as it is a successor company of Union Carbide, which was responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy. Speaking exclusively to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, Maken pointed that the Olympic's Council charter called for universal fundamental ethical principles. Here is the full transcript of the interview: Karan Thapar: Hello...
07:00 PM, Mar 04, 2012
New Delhi: No decision has yet been taken on India boycotting the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London Olympic Games as a mark of protest against Dow Chemicals association with the mega event, a highly placed official source said on Wednesday. The source said the Government had written a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on February 24 and would rather wait for a response before deciding on...
11:57 PM, Feb 29, 2012
New Delhi: India will partially boycott the 2012 London Olympics to protest against Dow Chemicals sponsoring the sports event. Indian officials will not only skip the opening and closing ceremonies, but will also boycott all official ceremonies related to the quadrennial event. However, the athletes will participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Randhir Singh said that the IOA has not taken any decision to...
07:04 PM, Feb 29, 2012
India's special envoy Madhusudhan Ganpathi has taken up the matter with the Norwegian Foreign Minister in Oslo. ...
10:36 PM, Feb 27, 2012
New Delhi: Whistleblower website WikiLeaks on Monday claimed to have in possession 'millions' of Stratfor mails that establish its links with Dow Chemicals, one of the prime accused in the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. Stratfor is a US-based intelligence firm. WikiLeaks alleged that it had proof that Stratfor monitored and analysed online activities of the Bhopal activists, reportedly on Dow's asking. One of the activists, Rachna Dhingra said that she...
07:21 PM, Feb 27, 2012
New Delhi: The Indian government on Monday lodged a formal complaint against Dows sponsorship of London 2012 Olympics with the Union Sports Ministry writing to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Union Sports Ministry has strongly protested over the sponsorship. This comes months after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had written to the 2012 London games organisers and the IOC, complaining against Dow Chemicals and urging them to drop it...
01:42 PM, Feb 27, 2012
London: British Parliamentarian Barry Gardiner has termed the process that led to the appointment of Dow Chemical Company as a sponsor for the wrap of the main 2012 Olympics stadium a 'sham'. Leading an adjournment debate in the Westminster Hall in British Parliament, Gardiner alleged that the procurement process was 'rigged' in favour of the company, and said if the sponsorship was not cancelled a 'cloud will hang' over the...
11:18 AM, Feb 22, 2012
The charge is that Dow Chemicals bears responsibility for the horrible Bhopal gas tragedy. ...
11:40 PM, Feb 17, 2012
A day after the International Olympic Council (IOC) turned down the Indian Olympics Association's (IOA) request to drop Dow as a sponsor for the Olympics, Enviroment Minister Jayathi Natarajan on Friday slammed the decision. Jayanthi said, "Someone who is responsible for such a tremendous environmental disaster should not sponsor Olympics." ...
12:10 PM, Feb 17, 2012
In a letter to the IOA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that Dow Chemicals had no role in the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. ...
03:17 PM, Feb 16, 2012
New Delhi: In more trouble for Dow Chemicals (TDCC), activists on Tuesday claimed to have found evidence to show a continuing relationship between the firm and Union Carbide (UCC), the company accused in 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The activists claimed that the evidence includes US court documents that prove that Dow traded Union Carbide products in India, thus violating a 1992 court order. Dow has maintained until now that it...
08:52 AM, Feb 14, 2012
Chennai: MDMK leader Vaiko demanded on Monday that India boycott the London Olympics if the organisers did not cancel the sponsorship contract with Dow Chemicals, which has links to Union Carbide - the company responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster in 1984. "To save the honour of the Indian democracy and to respect the sad sentiments of the affected people of Bhopal (gas tragedy), the government should send a strongly-worded...
06:16 PM, Jan 30, 2012
