Efforts toward Bhopal settlement pick up steam

From the shape of the news concerning the ongoing saga of Bhopal, the two sides—the Indian government and Union Carbide—seem poised to square off in the court battle that is set to take place in Bhopal itself. India has just filed its affidavit in Bhopal district court. The amount of damages are unspecified; Indian sources have said a specific dollar figure required by the court will be given in some months, once various studies are finished. Behind the scenes, however, another scenario appears to be taking shape, one aimed toward settlement. To recap the Bhopal toll, more than 2000 are dead—the "more" probably numbering about 1000, since even today an average of two persons exposed to the methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas are dying each week and a few hundred may simply be unaccounted for. In addition, India says another 500,000 have claimed injury from exposure to the gas that spurted from the tank at Carbide's ...