Lashing out at the centre and Maharashtra government for collaborating with Dow Chemical (owner of Union Carbide), the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy today said it is "shameful" that the US multinational has been invited for a business conference in the city.

Aquatech International, a conference to be held in suburban Goregaon, will see participation from companies from 15 countries. Dow Chemical, one of the participants, will be promoting water-related technologies at the three-day exhibition-cum-conference, to be inaugurated by state minister of water supply and sanitation Laxman Dhobale tomorrow.

"How can chief minister Prithviraj Chavan invite Dow Chemical despite knowing the damage it has done to the people of Bhopal who are still facing health crisis due to contaminated water?" asked Rashida Bi, president of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.

A delegation of the NGO will try to meet Chavan and state government officials to register their protest. The US firm has aggravated health crisis by refusing to clean-up soil and groundwater (at Union Carbide site), she said.

"In the conference, Dow will be showcasing what it claims is its cutting edge technology to treat industrial effluents and purify water. The company, which did not control the damage in Bhopal, will now provide a solution on purifying water."

The survivors said even today hundreds of babies are born with deformities, while their parents suffer from damage to liver, kidney and lungs. .

"Fourteen localities (around the plant site) still have no option but to drink contaminated water as Bhopal Gas Relief Department has not been able to arrange for potable water. Also, there is a need for free medical care for all those who are still suffering," Rashida Bi said.

Another survivor and a member of Children Against Dow Carbide, Safreen Khan said, "It is shameful that the Indian government is promoting Dow Chemical's business rather than holding it accountable."

Samreen (13), who accompanied the delegation to the city, said the Indian government must not encourage Dow Chemical and take strict action against it.

Hundreds of people were killed and thousands others maimed when a poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in December 1984. Union Carbide was late acquired by Dow Chemical.