Rajya Sabha mourns Bhopal gas tragedy victims

The Rajya Sabha mourned the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984, expressing the members' “heartfelt sympathies” for the “human tragedy of unparalleled magnitude”.

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday mourned the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984, expressing the members' “heartfelt sympathies” for the “human tragedy of unparalleled magnitude”.

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As soon as the upper house assembled at 11 a.m., House Chairman and Vice President Hamid Ansari read out a statement, saying that the “scars of the tragedy still haunt us”.

"It was a human tragedy of unparalleled magnitude and shocked the world. It is incumbent on us to do the utmost for the victims,” Ansari said.

"Compensation claims should be settled on a time-bound manner,” he added.

"I am sure the house will join me in conveying our heartfelt sympathies to those who suffered from this gruesome incident,” Ansari said.

The tragedy occurred on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984 when tonnes of Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC) spewed out of the Union Carbide Corp’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, killing more than 3,500 people instantly.