Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Bhopal gas tragedy which is considered as the world’s worst industrial disaster has completed 30 years on 3rd December. Members of both the Houses of the Parliament stood in silence for a few minutes as a mark of respect to those who were killed. They even expressed their support and commitment to the people affected by the gas leak.
Bhopal gas tragedy
- It occurred on the night of 2-3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
- Over 500,000 people in Bhopal and surrounding area were exposed to Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals after gas leak incident.
- The government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh confirmed 3,787 deaths as a result of gas leakage. Unofficial estimates exceeded 10,000.
- More than a half-million people were injured, with many dying from illnesses including lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
- In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470 million to the Indian government to settle litigation stemming from the disaster.
- In 2010, eight low-level Indian executives of Union Carbide’s Bhopal subsidiary were convicted of negligence in this tragedy.
Warren M Anderson: In September 2014, former Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation, Warren M Anderson died. He was officially labeled as a fugitive by Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on 1st February 1992 Bhopal disaster. The judge also called him an absconder for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case. Union government had requested the US government to extradite him several times but it was always denied since the first extradition request in 2003 due to lack of evidence.
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Month: Current Affairs - December, 2014