The Bhopal gas tragedy which is ranked as one of the worst human tragedies in the world. If it has to be called a tragedy it is one in the truest sense of the term. Now the question one should be asking oneself is whether the very accident. which has been described as the worst chemical disasters in the history of the world, is more tragic than the treatment meted to the thousands of hapless victims. By all accounts the Bhopal gas leak on the night of 2-3 December, 1984 has exposed the government to a lot of searching questions. It took only a fateful day when poisonous fumes killed hundreds of people and maimed thousands of them in the years to follow. Union Carbide Limited , a transnational company stored tonnes of methyl isocyanate in its premises by cocking a snook at the governmental agencies in utter disregard of all safety and security norms laid down in the statute book. It is a criminal act of the worst kind committed by both. In the 25^th anniversary of the event what is the scenario like?

An estimated 20,000 people have died since then and many are doomed to die or lead a vegetable life having been afflicted with incurable diseases. What is far more disquieting is the birth of children with deformities and other serious congenital ailments. A tragedy which has killed and maimed thousands of people and is now threatening a few generations of these people.

Perhaps the conduct of the governments , both the Centre and the state, should come in for severe criticism. Although many governments of various hues have come and gone since 1984 but none of these governments seriously applied itself to the task of ensuring adequate compensation to the victims and of rehabilitating the victims and their families. Adopting an ostrich-like attitude towards this massive tragedy , they continue to show apathy in appreciating

the true dimensions of the problem. According to a study conducted by an NGO the toxic waste in huge quantities lying stored in the factory premises is silently and treacherously permeating the water and soil of the nearby areas. In the thick of all these what the government is denying the very existence of these life-threatening problems displaying callousness of a kind which even a dictatorial regime would shudder to think!

• Written by chinmoymukherjee.
• In category General Reference.
• 14 years ago.

Hot Hits: 2138

Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.