Parliament today remembered the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy on the 31st anniversary, with Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari saying the man-made tragedy of “unparalleled magnitude” continues to haunt the victims as he pitched for stricter regulations to prevent such tragedies.
Metal band Elemental is revisiting the horror and sufferings of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, the Bhopal gas tragedy, through its music.
On the 31st anniversary of the tragedy, the band is set to release a new album titled ‘Creation of the Damned’, depicting the sequence of events on the night of December 2-3 in 1984.
The incident, which saw leakage of Methyl Isocyanate gas and other toxins, is considered one of the worst industrial disasters.
“The whole album is a chronology of the tragedy. The first song ‘Smell of Fear’ presents the scene of how the people in the city, who were mostly sleeping at that time, were caught unaware by the leaked gas. It depicts how the people were trapped in the atmosphere (the gas cloud) of fear,” lead vocalist Anchal Bhargava said.
The final track titled ‘The Last Death’ attempts to portray the helplessness of how people suffocated in the gas trap and lost their lives, Mr. Bhargava said.
Over 3,000 people are believed to have died in the Bhopal gas leak. “Till today it is said that parents, who were exposed to the gas, give birth to children with congenital defects. We have drawn inspiration to record the album from one such story. While we knew the impact of the disaster in the city, one day we were sitting at a tea stall where we saw a woman stall owner, who was paralysed,” Mr. Bhargava said.
After conversing with her the band members found that she was nine when the tragedy struck and subsequently developed physical defects over the years due to after-effects of the gas.
“It was not just her but other children, elders and pregnant woman were impacted heavily. They either developed deformities or died due to cancer, tumour and other diseases. We were moved,” the band’s lead singer said.
The band has a global tour scheduled next year to spread awareness on the issue.
“Be it the government at that time in Madhya Pradesh or the present dispensation, nobody can understand the pain of the people who underwent the horrors of 1984. The album is a tribute to all the victims and the survivors of the incident, and their spirit to fight and never give up,” Mr. Bhargava said.