A chronicle of the medical disaster in newspapers:
1997
BHOPAL STILL BREATHES UNEASY from National Mail 2/2/97. Researchers report that the people are still suffering from the aftermath of the gas disaster a decade later. Respiratory problems and lung function is reduced among people who were exposed to the gas. The team said their findings suggested that further studies were needed, as well as controlled trials of effective treatments.
FIFTY THOUSAND BHOPALITES LEFT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED from National Mail 19/7/97. About 50,000 people affected by the gas disaster have been “permanently damaged” according to a team of physicians. The people were still going to hospital emergency rooms with various types of serious complaints and local doctors were seeing as many as 1500 patients a day. Doctors did not have continuity of medical records and they also did not have records about which medicines the victims had taken and which of them were effective and which ineffective.
AUTONOMOUS BODY TO MONITOR MEDICAL-REHABILITATION FOR GAS HIT from National Mail 29/9/97. The problems of the lack of medicines, corruption and irregularities in the gas hospitals, and their mismanagement, have been agitating the victims who had demanded a separate medical commission for monitoring the health of the victims. The Chief Minister agreed to the persistent demand of the gas victim’s voluntary organizations to set up an autonomous body to take care of the medical rehabilitation.
GAS RELIEF DEPT. SPREADING MISINFORMATION: SANGATHAN from National Mail 30/11/97. The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udhyog Sangathan says that the state government is creating atmosphere for the closure of the Gas Relief Department. Instead of making arrangements for the shortage of medicines and other drugs in the gas relief hospitals the department authorities were busy issuing misleading statements.
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