Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Bhopal tragedy

Sir, — This refers to the editorial "Twenty years too late" (April 27). The Bhopal gas tragedy is, no doubt, a human disaster of epic proportions. However, the cause of the disaster and its impact on people, property and prospects continues, even after 20 years, to be a matter of conjecture. This is so because the subject is addressed by the media, the Government, the victims and the denizens with more sensation than sensibility.

How else does one explain that the cause is still within the realms of allegation, the number of deaths within the province of guess work, the extent of the affected within the domain of speculation, the guilt determination within the process of witness examination, the soil decontamination within the tomes of academic rumination, and the relief programmes within the letters of recommendations?

As a result, a generation of Bhopalis has grown up seeing the Bhopal gas tragedy as a crutch for its hopes, a stick to thrash its disappointments and a wand for an improved life.

This is so because what is being pursued is compensation and not justice.

Suresh Singaravelu,
Bangalore

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