Lingering tragedy of Bhopal gas disaster

Over 25,000 people are estimated to have died in the Bhopal gas disaster that occurred 40 years ago on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.

- ND Jayaprakash

Close to 550,000 suffered injuries of varying degrees. The toxic effects are visible in the city's population even today. And there is no telling how long its impact will linger—over one million tonnes of soil in and around the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) controlled pesticide plant, the epicentre of the disaster, lie contaminated while the extent of contamination of groundwater and aquifers is yet to be properly estimated. What compounds the suffering of the affected is that the core issues they face remain unaddressed to this day. The current status of health care, compensation, rehabilitation, prosecution of the accused, and remediation of the environment, read against the continuing demands, is briefly recounted below.