Summary:
Bhopal, Dec 2 (PTI) They were not born at the time but hundreds of children live the horrors of that intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, every minute of every day -- their bodies trapped forever in congenital disabilities such as blindness and cerebral palsy.Thirty-seven years and some three generations later, the darkness of that night when 40 tonnes of lethal methyl isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide plant hangs like an impenetrable cloud over the lives of untold thousands, including children as young as three whose parents were exposed to the toxin when they themselves were children.What did help was therapy and special education lessons.
That has been impacted with the Covid pandemic and the months of lockdown that followed.
As the world marks another anniversary, those that were left behind count their losses.The official number of deaths from what has come to be known as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, among the world’s worst industrial disasters ever, was 2,259 but activists estimate the number could be well over 20,000, maybe double that.The effects were devastating for those who survived, and for the generations that followed.
Adding to the long-term effects of those who inhaled the gas was the slow poisoning of the groundwater.
Those exposed passed the effects on, leading to many children born with disabilities, including Down"s syndrome, muscular dystrophy and attention-deficit disorders.Alfez is 10, Umair 12, Isha 18, Mohsin 24… Just some of the many who live their lives confined to their beds and inside their homes, helpless and totally dependent for their everyday needs.
While studies continue and much is still to be known, the chain from that night 37 years ago is clear, said experts.