Compensation plea for Bhopal gas tragedy rejected by SC; four decades later wait for fair redressal continues
Plea rejected...justice denied?
India's Supreme Court dismissed the Central government's curative plea, seeking additional compensation from Union Carbide Corporation for victims of the 1985 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
The top court instead directed the government to utilise INR 50 crore lying with the RBI to satisfy pending claims.
What happened 38 years ago?
According to accounts, a pesticide factory's poisonous cyanide gas leak caused the world's deadliest industrial disaster, affecting more than 558,000 people.
38 years later: Justice awaited
As per Reuters even after almost four decades of the tragedy, survivors are still awaiting justice and government help.
Affected even today
"My family got destroyed by the Bhopal gas leak and even today we are getting affected by the poison that leaked," said one protester, as quoted by Reuters.
(Image courtesy: ANI Video screengrab)
Death toll
The official death toll was 5,295; however, unconfirmed estimates put the number as high .as 16,000 Activists predict 25,000 illnesses-related deaths since the spill. They claim that there is still a lot of untreated cancer, blindness, respiratory issues, immunological and neurological illnesses.
How was the number of people affected this high?
Around 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas accidently leaked from a pesticide facility controlled by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation in the early hours of December 3, 1984, and was carried by the wind into the neighbouring slums in Bhopal.
Hundreds protest
Over the years, there have been many protests by survivors and the kin of the victims of the horrible tragedy.
(Image courtesy: ANI Video screen grab)
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