US lawmakers have asked Dow Chemical to clean up the soil and underground water contaminated by the deadly gas leak at Union Carbide plant at Bhopal but the US firm disowned the liabilities saying that it never owned or operated the disgraced plant site.

LALIT K JHA
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI

Union Carbide plant paid US $470 million in damages for the deadly gas leak from the plant in Bhopal on December 3, 1984

A four-member delegation including two members of the survivors' family of the worst industrial gas tragedy in Bhopal conducted a successful campaign of United States to exert pressure over Dow Chemicals Company that refused to obey Indian courts and Indian government.

One person was killed and six others including two minors were hospitalised after inhailing ammonia gas leaked from a broken pipe at an ice factory in Arjun Nagar (Gunjmandi) on Tuesday.The gas leakage in the ice factory located in the residential area at 12.30pm forced hundreds of residents to run in panic.

Chemicals producers and governments agreed on Friday to step up efforts to push for greater safety in chemicals from lead in paint to microscopic substances.

But non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said unless the industry and governments come up with more money, agreed targets for cleaning up chemicals by 2020 were unlikely to be met.

Gangtok: At least 12 labourers were killed when a dam being constructed by a private firm collapsed near Rongli in East Sikkim district, police said on Friday.

The Rang Po dam collapsed at about 9.00pm last night and so far 10 bodies have been recovered, but the toll could mount as it was still not clear how many labourers were at work at the site, Superintendent of Police M S Tuli said.

GANGTOK, April 17

The 13th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan meeting here on Wednesday reviewed the level of preparedness of various agencies to deal with oil spill disasters.

PSEB Chairman assesses damage
Tribune News Service

Ropar, March 12
To assess the damage caused to machinery during a minor fire in unit number 6, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Chairman HS Brar today visited the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant today.