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Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Then And Now

On a cold December night of 1984, Bhopal was struck by one of the worst industrial disasters when 10 tonnes of poisonous Methyl Isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory, killing 1700 people and affecting over 5 lakh.

Seen here: a man carries the body of his wife past the deserted Union Carbide factory afterin 1984.

  • On a cold December night of 1984, Bhopal was struck by one of the worst industrial disasters when 10 tonnes of poisonous Methyl Isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory, killing 1700 people and affecting over 5 lakh.

    Seen here: a man carries the body of his wife past the deserted Union Carbide factory in 1984.
  • Survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy have been protesting seeking justice and adequate compensation. Seen here, some of the survivors protest in New Delhi in 2001 to extradite Warren Anderson, former chief executive of Union Carbide.
  • Activists claim even now over 5 lakh people suffer from the effects of the tragedy; they say many of the second and third generation children are born with congenital defects, cerebral palsy, and even cancer. A view of the Bhopal city in 2002.

    30 years have passed since the tragedy but survivors' struggle still continues.
  • In one of the protests, Bhopal gas tragedy survivors chain themselves outside the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister's residence in September 2014, demanding proper compensation.
  • Abandoned to poor health care and paltry pay-outs, survivors have fought for three decades for the corporations behind the disaster to be brought to justice in one of the longest people's struggles in India.
  • Locals graze goats within the Union Carbide compound in 2014. When Union Carbide abandoned the factory, it left behind pollution that has never been cleaned up. For decades, people living nearby were forced to drink water contaminated by these pollutants, leading to debilitating illness.