Bhopal: The city Wednesday marked the 24th anniversary of what is termed the worlds worst-ever industrial disaster - the Bhopal Gas Tragedy - the effects of which continue to be visible till date.

Observance of the anniversary began last night when a torch rally was carried out to mark the occasion and effigies of Warren Anderson, the then Chairman of Union Carbide, where Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked causing the tragedy, were burnt at several places.

An all-religion prayer meeting was held in the morning at the Barkatullah Bhavan in memory of victims.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Governor Balram Jakhar did not make it to the meeting.

With the passage of time, observance of the anniversary has been reduced to a mere token ritual, but all local government offices in the city remain closed on December
three to let people participate in functions held on the occasion.

The tragedy occurred on the night of December two-three in 1984 following the leak of the lethal MIC from the then Union Carbide plant located here.

On the night of the tragedy, a total of around 3,000 people lost their lives and the number has gone up to 35,000 in the last 24 years and the lakhs injured continue to suffer.

According to organisations working for the tragedy affected victims, there were three lakh people suffering from serious gas-related diseases even now.

The Union Government had entered into an agreement with Union Carbide under which it had paid USD 479 million as compensation to gas victims, which has not even been
distributed completely, organisations said.

Successive governments in the state have not done anything concrete for victims since the tragedy, organisations allege.

They are are also peeved with the fact that till Wednesday no one has been punished for the disaster.

Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan, supposed to be the biggest organisation working for gas victims has said there have been no changes in conditions and that they were the same as on the morning of December three, 1984.

The tragedy is multi-faceted but shows the whole world that the Indian juidical system works at an exruciatingly slow pace, Sangathan convenor Abdul Jabbar said.

Even 24 years after the disaster, the case related to the disaster is still being heard at the level of the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate and once a judgement is given, it will go to the Sessions judge, then the Madhya Pradesh High court and in the end the Supreme Court, he said.

None are willing to hazard a guess on when the final judgement in the case would be delivered and it is believed that it may not come in the lifetime of most victims.

Source : DNA