Bhopal, Nov 7 (IANS): A group of activists, which has launched a month-long campaign to highlight the grievances of the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, has raised questions over the state government's proposal to build a memorial at the site of the Union Carbide plant.
The Bhopal gas tragedy occurred in December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited's pesticide plant in Bhopal. It is considered among the world's worst industrial disasters.
The activists associated with different NGOs have termed the state government's proposal to build a memorial at the site of the plant as "a well planned cover-up" of Dow Chemical Company, which purchased Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) in 2001, 17 years after the disaster.
"Why is the state government planning to put concrete on land contaminated with chemicals that retain toxicity for over 100 years," an activist asked on Sunday.
Rashida Bee, the head of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangthan, told IANS that since 1990, as many as 17 reports, including those prepared by the top research agencies of the Central government, have confirmed the presence of pesticides, heavy metals and poisonous chemicals in high concentrations till 3 km away from the abandoned factory site.
"Instead of excavating and removing thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste that is the cause for the ongoing contamination of Bhopal's groundwater, the state government is planning to cover the contaminated land with concrete," Rashid said.
Elaborating more on contamination of groundwater in the city, activist Rachna Dhingra claimed that research agencies in their reports have confirmed high concentration of six persistent organic pollutants in the city's groundwater.
The NGOs claimed that chemicals and heavy metals found by different agencies are known to damage the brain, liver, lungs and kidney, besides causing cancer and other diseases.
The NGOs have launched a month-long campaign -- 'Bhopal disaster: 37 years' -- and are raising one question related to the gas tragedy every day.