Bhopal tragedy

There is a hue and cry over the need to extradite Warren Anderson and make him face trial in India for the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. What purpose will the extradition of a person over 90 serve? The only useful thing that can be done now is to seek additional compensation from Dow Chemical, which has taken over Union Carbide. If the U.S. government can be persuaded to intervene in the matter on humanitarian grounds, it will help. Passing the buck will serve no useful purpose as it will not undo the 26 years of apathy.

R. Premanandan,

Kochi

What purpose would be served in getting Mr. Anderson extradited? It will only lead to a waste of public money by our bureaucrats. We do not have any official records of his visit anyway. The same party which organised a safe passage for him is in power now. The least we can do is to save the money that will be wasted on the efforts to get Mr. Anderson's extradited.

Raju F. Ollukaren,

Chennai

The Bhopal gas tragedy has left behind a permanent scar that is difficult to erase. The inept handling of the issue by successive governments is shocking. The Rs.1500-crore package recommended for the victims by the GoM will, no doubt, mitigate their hardship to some extent. But if the past is anything to go by, the delivery mechanism is unlikely to deliver. The government must evolve an appropriate mechanism to identify the beneficiaries and detect false claims so that the right quantum of compensation reaches the deserving persons.

Srinivasan Umashankar,

Nagpur