Indian Archbishop remembers his city's industrial disaster

(December 4, 2009) Indian Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal has expressed regret that justice has not been meted out to the victims and survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster in his city 25 years ago. About 3,000 people died Dec. 3, 1984, when 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas escaped from a chemical plant owned by the Union Carbide Corp. in Bhopal. The Andhra Pradesh state government said 15,000 people subsequently died; nongovernmental organizations put the death toll at more than 20,000. The government also has admitted the gas leak affected around 573,600 survivors. Speaking to Vatican Radio on Thursday, the 25^th anniversary of the disaster, Archbishop Cornelio said many persons, especially the poor still continue to suffer. About 100 Christians from various denominations lit candles and observed two minutes of silent prayer on Thursday to remember victims and survivors of the Bhopal tragedy. Father Anand Muttungal, secretary of the commission for dialogue and ecumenism of the Catholic Council of Bishops of Madhya Pradesh state, who organized the ecumenical prayer service, also said many survivors and those born since then are paying "a huge price" suffering from the effects of the tragedy. The priest who is also the spokesperson of Andhra Pradesh bishops council Contaminated soil and drinking water have added to survivors' miseries. "We need to become more conscious of the dangers when industries like this build plants around the world," Fr. Muttungal added.