Twenty five years ago, the country woke up to a terrible tragedy in Bhopal. A lethal gas, Methyl Isocyanate (MIC), had leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Ltd. at Bhopal into the atmosphere. The leakage resulted in over 5000 people losing their lives and many others being incapacitated permanently. The enormity of that tragedy of neglect still gnaws at our collective conscience.

The families that suffered and lost their dear ones can never really be fully compensated. However, the Government of India has implemented several measures to provide relief to the affected families, including socioeconomic and medical rehabilitation and improvement in their living conditions. Here I would also like to salute the civil society groups who have persisted in pursuing justice and compensation to those who suffered.

Those affected by the catastrophe deserve our continuing support and sympathy. We owe it to our fellow citizens to put in place procedures and precautions to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.

I share the grief of those affected by this horrible incident. I reaffirm our Government's commitment to resolving issues of safe drinking water, expeditious clean up of the site, continuation of medical research, and any other outstanding issues connected with the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.