Bhopal survivors demand pension, free treatment

Claiming that chromosomal aberrations among people exposed to Union Carbide’s toxic gases have caused birth defects among their children, survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy on Sunday sought monthly pension and free treatment for them. Over 120 children of gas-affected parents, below the age of 12, were identified as born with defects by the Chingari Trust, an organisation working for gas victims. Demanding monthly pension of Rs 1,000 and free medical care from the state government, they claimed the children suffered from defects like cerebral palsy, cleft lip, missing palate and the like.