Bhopal protests with its own ‘Special Olympics’

(July 30, 2012) Non-governmental organizations campaigning for the victims of a gas disaster 28 years ago in Bhopal, India, held a ‘Special Olympics’ last week as a protest against Dow Chemical’s sponsorship of the current Olympic Games in London. A poisonous gas leaked from the tanks of the Union Carbide pesticide plant located in the Cholla area of Bhopal on the night between December 2-3, 1984, killed more than 20,000 people and maimed thousands more for life. Since 2001, Union Carbide has become a subsidiary of the US-based Dow Chemical, one of the sponsors of the London Games. The participants in the July 26th Special Olympics in Bhopal, all victims, competed in softball, crab-walking and wheelchair races close to the now abandoned Union Carbide plant. Dow Chemical is due to sponsor the Olympics for a decade, a deal which activist Rachna Dhingra said was unacceptable in light of what happened in Bhopal. She said they would keep demanding termination of the sponsorship deal even after the Games are over. However, the International Olympic Committee has defended its sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical, saying that the company played no role in the Bhopal gas tragedy. Bhopal residents have also taken a strong exception to India’s famous film star Amitabh Bachchan opting to participate in the Olympic torch relay in London, denouncing his action as betrayal.