Gas tragedy memorial work to begin by end of year: MP minister

The construction of a memorial andresearch centre in memory of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedyvictims will begin by the end of the year and it will send outa message of environment conservation, Madhya Pradesh ministerof relief and rehabilitation Vishwas Sarang said on Tuesday.

It will be built at the site of the leak, which tookplace in the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984 andkilled thousands, and is widely acknowledged as the world'sworst industrial disaster, he said.

''This will not only be a tribute to those who died inthe disaster but also send out a message to the world that weshould not spoil our environment due to industrialization.

Work on the memorial and research centre is likely to begin bythe end of this year,'' he told reporters.

He said the research centre would work for social-economic development of gas victims, as well as on pollutionand environmental conservation.

Sarang also said the work of removal of hazardouswaste lying in the Union Carbide factory, the site of thetragedy,, would begin soon.

The Union government, in March 2017, had told the LokSabha that 336 tonnes of hazardous waste were lying in thefactory premises.