December 9, 2004
Bhopal victims commemorate 20th anniversary of disaster
Agence France Presse

Survivors are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal pesticide plant gas leak that killed thousands in the world's worst industrial accident.

BHOPAL, India (AFP) - Survivors are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal pesticide plant gas leak that killed thousands in the world's worst industrial accident.

Survivors and activists who have battled for medical care and financial compensation for victims were due to hold a ceremony in Bhopal, central India, to honour those who died from the gas leak at the Union Carbide plant a few minutes after midnight on December 3, 1984.

At a separate function, local government officials were to pay tribute to victims of the disaster in which 40 tonnes (44 tons) of lethal methyl isocyanate gas billowed from the plant.

The ceremonies follow a midnight vigil in which hundreds of survivors and relatives revisited the now-derelict plant to light candles in memory of at least 15,000 people who, according to Indian government records, died as a result of the gas.

Amnesty International said this week the tragedy and resulting illnesses like cancer had claimed 22,000 to 25,000 lives. Local victims' rights activists put the figure as high as 30,000.

Musharraf Ali, 51, who lost his wife Afroze to cancer in 1996, was among those grieving near the factory. "I come here for the vigil every year to express my sorrow at the horrific accident that destroyed my life," he said.

Though there were no tears, grief was etched on the faces of many who gathered near the plant. After lighting the candles, they arranged them to make the figures "eight, four, zero, four".

"This arrangement of candles signifies the passage of time from 1984 to 2004, marking the 20th anniversary of the tragedy," said activist Satinath Sarangi, who heads the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

Men and women, many of them elderly, lined up with children behind the candles at a memorial -- a stone statue depicting a woman with her children -- clutching faded black-and-white photos of dead loved ones.

Many survivors, mainly slumdwellers who were living around the plant, still suffer from illnesses including cancer, gynaecological problems, tuberculosis, eyesight and breathing problems.

Tahir Khan, 17, said his mother sent him to the vigil as a tribute to his father who died from after-effects of inhaling the toxic fumes.

On Thursday, supporters of victims demanded Dow Chemicals, which took over Union Carbide in 2001, clean up the site which activists say contains thousands of tonnes of toxic chemicals.

Dow says all liabilities were settled when Union Carbide paid a 470-million dollar settlement. The company says it has has no responsibility for cleaning up the site or for any toxins still leaching into the ground.

An Indian government official said the first steps had been taken to finally remove all waste from the site.

"The federal government has asked (state-run) Engineers India Ltd to survey the Union Carbide plant to determine how much toxic waste there is on the site," said Uma Shankar Gupta, a local minister in charge of victims' relief.

The report "will be the first step towards the cleanup," Gupta told AFP.

Global environmental group Greenpeace welcomed what it said was a belated clean-up pledge but said the government should "immediately commit itself to most urgent and immediate measures of securing the site and providing clean drinking water to the survivors."

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