Victims of Bhopal gas tragedy demand arrest of Warren Anderson

Bhopal, Nov 29(ANI): The survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy staged a protest in Bhopal on Sunday and burned effigies of Warren Anderson, Chairman of the Union Carbide when the disaster took place in 1984, demanding his arrest.

With a few days to go for the 25 anniversary of the gas tragedy, the victims got together with a voluntary organisation, 'Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha', which is working for the rights of the victims, to protest and bring the Government's notice to their plight.

During the protest, the victims demanded that the Government should extradite Anderson, who currently stays in New York. And, if they are not capable of it, then they should ask for Anderson to be tried in an American court.

The victims also put forth their demands of pension for the widows of the gas victims, pure water to drink and to remove toxic waste, which is still lying in the vicinity of the Union Carbide's plant.

More than 3,500 people died in the days and weeks after toxic fumes spewed out of a pesticide plant in Bhopal on the night of December 2, 1984.

Officials have confirmed that at least 15,000 people have died from cancer and other ailments related to the toxic gas leak.

However, activists have put the toll at 33,000 and claimed that toxins from thousands of tonnes of chemicals lying in and around the site have seeped into the ground and contaminated the water sources.

Union Carbide in 1984 accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and established a 100 million dollar charitable trust fund to build a hospital for the victims. (ANI)