Indian protesters demanding cleanup of 1984 Bhopal spill arrested

Indian police detained dozens of protesters in New Delhi Wednesday who were calling for the cleanup of the site of the 1984 Bhopal industrial disaster, activists say.

Thirty-seven protesters chained themselves to the gates of the official residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding the toxic gas leak at a pesticide plant that killed at least 10,000 people be cleaned up and some 550,000 survivors adequately compensated, said Madhumita Dutta, a spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

Some of the protesters walked the 800 kilometres from the central city of Bhopal to New Delhi as part of the protest, Dutta said.

Organizers said 62 protesters were detained. Police confirmed arrests were made but gave no other details. Officers used chain cutters to free the protesters then transported them to a nearby police station.

For decades, survivors of what is considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters have fought for the site to be cleaned up and additional compensation granted to victims.

At the time of the accident, U.S. chemical company Union Carbide ran the plant, but it has since passed into the hands of the state.

Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. bought Union Carbide in 2001, seven years after Union Carbide sold its interest in the plant.

In 1989, Union Carbide paid $470 million US in compensation to victims. The company says the responsibility for cleanup lies with the Indian government.

The plant is now under the control of India's Madhya Pradesh state, which has agreed to pay an Indian company, Bharuch Environ Infrastructure Ltd., about $220,000 to dispose of waste. Officials say the cleanup has yet to begin because court cases must first be resolved.

Activists say nearly 10,000 tons of toxic waste still remain on the site.