Bhopal's legacy

Bhopal's legacy

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This story was first published in 2014.

On the night of December 2, 1984, a pesticide factory owned by the U.S. multinational Union Carbide Corp accidentally leaked cyanide gas into the air, killing thousands of largely poor Indians in the central city of Bhopal.

Thirty one years later, the toxic legacy of this factory lives on, say human rights groups, as thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste remains buried underground.

. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Beyond the iron gates of the derelict pesticide plant where one of the world's worst industrial disasters occurred, administrative buildings lie in ruins, vegetation overgrown and warehouses bolted.

Massive vessels, interconnected by a multitude of corroded pipes that once carried chemical slurries, have rusted beyond repair.

. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Five-year-old Saagar, pictured above in his mother Komal’s arms, suffers from mental and physical disabilities and receives treatment at a rehabilitation centre supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal, which says it only treats families it believes have been affected by the Union Carbide gas leak 31 years ago.

“What is most pronounced is the number of children with birth defects," said Bhopal Medical Appeal activist Satinath Sarangi. "Children are born with conditions such as twisted limbs, brain damage, musculoskeletal disorders.”

Sarangi admitted, however that there has been no long-term epidemiological research which conclusively proves that birth defects are directly related to the drinking of the contaminated water.

. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

100,000 people who were exposed to the gas continue to suffer today with sicknesses such as cancer, blindness, respiratory problems, immune and neurological disorders.

While those directly affected, such as 64-year-old Zafar Ahmedas, pictured above, receive free medical health care, activists say authorities have failed to support those sick from drinking the contaminated water and a second generation of children born with birth defects.

BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Zubeida Bi and her husband Salim Rehman are pictured in an undated family photograph (top). Bi is photographed alone in Bhopal this year (bottom). She says her husband died as a result of gas poisoning after the Bhopal disaster.

BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Lata Bai is seen with her husband Ashok Badgujjar and their four sons in an undated family photograph (top). Bai, who says her husband died as a result of gas poisoning, is seen with her four sons in Bhopal this year (bottom).

BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Ram Chandra is pictured with his wife Prema in an undated family photograph (top), and alone in a picture taken this year (bottom). Chandra says his wife died as a result of gas poisoning.

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Slideshow

A sticker is seen next to a panel in the control room of the abandoned former Union Carbide Corp pesticide plant in Bhopal.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A sticker is seen next to a panel in the control room of the abandoned former Union Carbide Corp pesticide plant in Bhopal.

A reactor tank stands among the ruins of the abandoned plant.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A reactor tank stands among the ruins of the abandoned plant.

Thick dust covers chemical bottles in a laboratory.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Thick dust covers chemical bottles in a laboratory.

Trees surround a chemical tank at the former plant.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Trees surround a chemical tank at the former plant.

Residents sit atop a crumbling wall beside a pond near the abandoned former Union Carbide pesticide plant.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Residents sit atop a crumbling wall beside a pond near the abandoned former Union Carbide pesticide plant.

Former maintenance worker, Mohammed Yaqub, poses in his house with his old identity card from the defunct plant where he once worked.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Former maintenance worker, Mohammed Yaqub, poses in his house with his old identity card from the defunct plant where he once worked.

Eight-year-old Abhi, who suffers from mental and physical disabilities, plays outside his house.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Eight-year-old Abhi, who suffers from mental and physical disabilities, plays outside his house.

Three-year-old Abdul, who suffers from mental and physical disabilities plays with his mother Rukhsana at their house.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Three-year-old Abdul, who suffers from mental and physical disabilities plays with his mother Rukhsana at their house.

Fifty-five-year-old Subna Bi (centre), poses for a picture outside her house next to the abandoned plant.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Fifty-five-year-old Subna Bi (centre), poses for a picture outside her house next to the abandoned plant.

A boy who was born with a mental disability looks out of a window at a rehabilitation centre supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal for children who were born with mental and physical disabilities.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A boy who was born with a mental disability looks out of a window at a rehabilitation centre supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal for children who were born with mental and physical disabilities.

A boy receives treatment at a rehabilitation centre supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal for children who were born with mental and physical disabilities.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A boy receives treatment at a rehabilitation centre supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal for children who were born with mental and physical disabilities.

People wait to receive medicine at a clinic supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

People wait to receive medicine at a clinic supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal.

People wait to receive medicine at a clinic supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

People wait to receive medicine at a clinic supported by Bhopal Medical Appeal.

A panel displays pictures of residents who died in the 1984 Bhopal disaster at the forensic department of a hospital.
. BHOPAL, India. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A panel displays pictures of residents who died in the 1984 Bhopal disaster at the forensic department of a hospital.