Bhopal gas tragedy waste arrives for disposal; CM seeks to assure doubters

Bhopal/Dhar, Jan 2: Amid 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy arriving in Dhar from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on Thursday and ensuing protests, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav addressed “doubters” and said the issue should not be politicised.
Yadav asserted the waste comprised 60 per cent mud and 40 per cent naphtol used to make pesticide methyl isocyanate (MIC) and was “not at all harmful”. “Its poison lasts for around 25 years as per scientists and this tragedy took place 40 years ago,” he said.
Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas had leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal in the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984, killing 5,479 persons and leaving thousands of others with serious, long-term health issues. It is widely acknowledged as the world’s worst industrial disaster.
Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 337 tons of waste was shifted from the defunct Union Carbide factory for its disposal at a unit in Dhar district.
It was transported at around 9 pm on Wednesday in 12 sealed container trucks via a ‘green corridor’ from Bhopal to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away.
Amid tight security, the vehicles reached around 4.30 am on Thursday at a factory in Pithampur where the waste will be disposed of, a police official said earlier in the day.
Addressing a press conference, CM Yadav said scientific studies have been carried out and safe technology will be deployed for the (waste) incineration process. “Politics should not be done over the issue. Dhar guardian minister Kailash Vijayvargiya will talk to the people and share information that the waste is not at all poisonous or harmful. The answer to all doubts comes from the fact that we have been living with the waste (for all these years),” he said.
“The Congress or those opposing the disposal process should not indulge in politics. I am saying all this to explain to people who are doubting. The apprehensions regarding disposal of this waste is baseless. The waste is being disposed of in Pithampur as per scientific methods on the directions of the Supreme Court,” the CM asserted.
Meanwhile, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari said the disposal of this waste could increase the risk of cancer among people of Pithampur and Indore as per experts.
“We do not want to politicise the issue. But till experts reach a clear opinion on waste disposal at Pithampur, the process should be stopped,” the Congress leader added. (PTI)