Indian ministers tasked with probing the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy amid fresh public outrage over the disaster have met to discuss possible responses by the government.
A nine-member panel headed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram will look into compensation for victims, criticised as inadequate by campaigners, and continued pollution caused by delays in cleaning up the factory at the centre of the disaster.
The world's worst industrial accident is back among the headlines after a court last week -- 25 years after the disaster -- convicted seven former managers at the plant, handing them two-year jail sentences and minor fines.
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This has fuelled a sense of betrayal among victims' families and campaigners, who have vociferously condemned the slow pace of justice, what they see as lenient sentences and continued pollution from the plant.
Ministers "will look at all issues, more specifically reaching out to those people who unfortunately have not not enough compensation, adequate compensation in the last so many years," Information Minister Ambika Soni told reporters on Thursday.
The disaster was unleashed on December 3, 1984, when a pesticide plant owned by US company Union Carbide accidentally released about 40 tonnes of toxic gas into surrounding residential areas.
According to the government, 3,500 lives were lost in the immediate aftermath but activists and rights group calculate that 25,000 people died in the years that followed.
Other members of the panel include Health Minister Gulab Nabi Azad, Law Minister Veerappa Moiley and Environment Minister Jaipal Ramesh.
They are set to meet on a daily basis and report back to the prime minister in 10 days time.
