MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Gas mishap compensation seekers exceed Bhopal's population

The number of people who have filed compensation claims after the industrial gas leak, which killed thousands in Bhopal in December 1984 and left lakhs suffering from long-term health problems, exceed the city's population.

According to the office of the Welfare Commissioner (Bhopal gas victims), Bhopal's population in 1984 was 8.50 lakh, while 10.26 lakh persons have filed compensation claims - 1.25 times more than the then population of the city.

Of the 10.26 lakh claims, 10.5 lakh had been settled - about 4.69 lakh having been rejected during scrutiny and hearings in the claims courts - and the remaining would be disposed of within the next six months, an official of the commissionerate said.

There was no new notification through which claimants could file their claims afresh, he said.

Around 2,000 people were killed after poisonous gas leaked from Union Carbide's plant, making it the world's worst industrial mishap.

Tell us what you think of this report