Bhopal, Dec 1 (IANS): The effects of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 are still visible among the residents of the state capital. Obesity and thyroid problems are becoming a major health issue with many victims of the tragedy, says a new data-based study.

On the occasion of the 36 anniversary of the Union Carbide incident in Bhopal, members of the Sambhavana Trust Clinic have found that the victims of the accident are experiencing more problems related to obesity and thyroid than others.

Giving details of the study, Dr. Sanjay Srivastava, a physician, said, "The analysis of data of 27,155 gas victims and others who have been taking treatment in our clinics for the last 15 years has found that people suffering from poisonous gases of Union Carbide are 2.75 times more likely to be overweight and suffer from obesity than normal people. The rate of thyroid-related diseases is 1.92 times higher."

The founder trustee of Sambhavna Trust Satinath Shadangi said that high obesity in Bhopal gas tragedy victims makes them more prone to such ailments as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, joint pains, apart from deadly diseases such as cancers of the liver, kidney, breast and uterus.

The clinic's community health worker Tabassum Ara said that the workers of the Sambhavana Trust Clinic have worked to spread awareness in 15 localities with a population of 42,000 to cope with the Coronavirus epidemic over the last eight months.

It may be recalled that the Sambhavana Trust Clinic, set up for free treatment of the victims of Union Carbide in 1996, has treated 25,348 victims of the gas tragedy and 7,449 people suffering from the effects of groundwater polluted by poisonous wastes.