Bhopal, September 19: After six survivors of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy died due to COVID-19, the victims of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster alleged that Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was guilty of criminal negligence and mismanagement. According to reports, the six victims of the gas tragedy died in the hospital's isolation ward in the past 15 days. Coronavirus Claims Lives of 17 Bhopal Gas Tragedy Survivors in Madhya Pradesh.

According to a report, published in NDTV, the survivors' groups, in a letter to a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee shared details of six gas tragedy victims who died in the isolation ward. The groups alleged that there was no full-time doctor posted for treatment of COVID-19 to the victims of the gas tragedy.

"Our letter which had categorically stated that unless urgent steps are taken by ICMR, too many Bhopalis will suffer from COVID-19 and die from it, fell on deaf ears," reported the media house quoting  Nawab Khan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha as saying. Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Recalling Sequence of Events That Led to World's Worst Industrial Disaster in 1984.

As per the data obtained under the Right to Information Act, pulmonary, neurology, gastro and neuro departments have reduced admission of gas victims by two to 11 times as compared to the period before the outbreak of COVID-19. BMHRC is a super-speciality hospital. It is built to cater to the medical needs of Bhopal gas tragedy victims. The hospital is currently run by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 19, 2020 01:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).