Bhopal gas tragedy: 337 metric tonnes chemical waste transported for disposal forty years after disaster
PTC News Desk: Forty years after Bhopal gas tragedy, 337 metric tonnes of chemical waste stored at Union Carbide factory has been removed for disposal.
The toxic waste was being transported from Bhopal to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away in 12 sealed container trucks. The waste is linked to the deaths of 15,000 people while affecting over 600,000 ans continuing generations till today.
The tragic incident unfolded on the night of December 2, 1984, when a massive release of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the Union Carbide plant transformed the city into a gas chamber killing 15, 000 people. The incident is considered as India's deadliest industrial disasters.
“The 12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor was created for the nearly-seven journey of the vehicles to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district,” said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.
Some local activists objected to the transportation of the toxic waste and claimed that 10 tonnes of toxic waste was carbonised in 2015 in Pithampur on a trial basis which caused the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages polluted.
However refuting the claims, Swatantra Kumar Singh said that decision of waste disposal was taken after every scrutiny and examinations of the objections and that there was no risk involved.
- PTC NEWS
