It’s been over three decades since the world's worst-ever industrial disaster, the Bhopal Gas tragedy, occurred at night between 2-3 December 1984. However, its memory still lingers in the minds of people. On its 35th anniversary, several took to Twitter to remember those who lost their lives and the hundreds of thousands who continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the disaster.
H3C-N=C=O or Methyl Isocyanate, MIC. Toxicity: 0.02 parts per million.
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) December 2, 2019
35 years ago, at this very moment, 11:50 pm, 42,000 kgs of MIC were released into the Bhopal air. 15,342 died; 558,743 were permanently disabled. Anderson was allowed to escape.
NEVER forget. NEVER forgive. pic.twitter.com/f4sUoz9SQw
35 years ago, 42,000 Kgs of Methyl Isocyanate was released into the air in Bhopal killing 15,342 & permanently disabled 558,743
— KISHAN (@kishand_panchal) December 3, 2019
Culprit Anderson escaped India
Victims still waiting for compensation and justice #BhopalGasTragedy #भोपाल_गैस_त्रासदी pic.twitter.com/zthtIz2AKC
Many others have demanded justice for those who died in the tragedy due to negligence and their survivors.
Warren Anderson, the then-chairman of the Union Carbide plant where the deadly gas leak took pace, was charged for the homicide but fled to the US soon after the tragedy occurred. He died on 29 September 2014.
He was declared a fugitive by a Bhopal court in 1992 and a request for extradition was issued in 2003.
35 years ago on this day, thousands of Innocents lost lives in the #BhopalGasTragedy and lakhs were affected.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) December 3, 2019
Warren Anderson, Chairman of Union Carbide, responsible for this man-made disaster, was allowed to escape by then-India PM Rajiv Gandhi.
Victims never got JUSTICE! pic.twitter.com/AeWJx6354i
After gas from his Union Carbide had poisoned over half a million this day in 1984, Warren Anderson landed in Bhopal and fussed why CM Arjun Singh wasn’t there to receive him.
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) December 2, 2019
Later, CM’s car and plane took him to Delhi, and with PM Rajiv Gandhi’s blessing, he flew out, forever. pic.twitter.com/5BQbY0ZxrZ
The most dangerous incident of
— Sudheer Ginnore (@ginnore_sudheer) December 3, 2019
Indian History
RIP for all peoples #BhopalGasTragedy pic.twitter.com/V1NQzk1U4m
35 years back on this day, #Bhopal witnessed one of the world's worst Gas leak Incidents. 16000 people were murdered in #BhopalGasTragedy. How soon we forget things! How soon we forget who helped the main culprit fly.
— Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh (@mayukhrghosh) December 3, 2019
Warren Anderson has died in 2014. Many still suffering. pic.twitter.com/4Fvp1Ash4T
the number of affected communities increased to 42 from the 12 initially. The groundwater contains toxic levels of chlorinated solvents. Still the peoples are facing a serious threat from the activity which had happened on 2 December 1984#BhopalGasTragedy pic.twitter.com/kqTk1w83GV
— RAKESH BHOWMIK (@RAKESHB69352198) December 3, 2019
In the wee hours of 3 December, 1984, the dead bodies of humans and animals filled the streets after the Union Carbide plant accidentally released toxic gases into the air which drifted into nearby slums, media reports said.
Even decades after the accident, people living near the abandoned plant in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh continue to suffer from the hazardous waste and contamination of ground water. The entry to the plant, where the toxic waste remains dumped, is restricted, covered with black plastic sheets.
The estimate of the people affected by is still highly debatable. According to the Bhopal Memorial Hospital & Research Centre, which is supposed to provide free healthcare to the people affected by the accident, around 10,000 or more people died and about 500,000 more people suffered injuries. However, the government records counts only 5,295 deaths.
