Railway minister Mamata Banerjee is reported to have said that her party will oppose the setting up of a chemical hub in Nayachar, West Bengal as part of the Left government's programme of industrialization of the state. She is perfectly justified in this because a 'chemical hub' where there is a concentration of chemical industries in one place is asking for a disaster to happen and environmentally a foolish concept.
The West Bengal government's idea of inviting the US chemical giant Dow Chemicals to set up shop in this hub is an affront to the memory of thousands of people who died in the Union carbide gas leak accident at Bhopal. The US multinational has neither owned responsibility for this gruesome tragedy nor has monetarily compensated the victims even after a quarter century so far. V.V.S.MANI, Koramangala, Block 6,Bengaluru 560 095
