Indore: 40 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 337 tons of toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory was transported to an industrial waste disposal unit in Pithampur near Indore on Thursday morning. Giving information about this, officials said that by creating a 'green corridor' under tight security, the toxic waste was sent in 12 sealed container trucks to the waste deposit unit in Pithampur Industrial Area of ​​Dhar district, 250 kilometers away from Bhopal. Officials said that a large number of police forces have been deployed around this unit run by a private company.

Protest started in Pithampur

As toxic waste from Union Carbide factory is being brought to Pithampur, local citizens have started protesting. They have announced to continue their protest demanding that toxic waste should not be destroyed in Pithampur. A bandh has also been called on Friday in Pithampur, which has a population of about 1.75 lakh. Citizens have expressed apprehension that the destruction of toxic waste in Pithampur will have a dangerous impact on human population and environment. The state government has dismissed these apprehensions by assuring that concrete arrangements will be made for safe disposal of this waste.

Indore's mayor made this demand

Savitri Thakur, the MP from Dhar Lok Sabha constituency where Pithampur falls, is the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development. Thakur said, "We, the public representatives, will convey the views of the citizens of Pithampur to the Chief Minister of the state, Mohan Yadav, and will urge the Chief Minister to take appropriate action." Pithampur and Indore are about 30 kilometers away. The citizens of Indore are also protesting against the burning of toxic waste of the Union Carbide factory in Pithampur. Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava has demanded that the plan to destroy this waste in Pithampur should be reconsidered. He said that a review petition should be filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court on behalf of the state government in this regard.

The High Court had fixed the time limit

Let us tell you that on the intervening night of 2 and 3 December 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. At least 5479 people were killed and thousands were crippled due to the gas leak. The Bhopal gas tragedy is considered one of the world's biggest industrial disasters. On 3 December, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had set a deadline of 4 weeks to remove the toxic waste of this factory and warned the government that if its instructions were not followed, contempt proceedings would be initiated.

'We will try burning some of the garbage'

Director of the state's Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Swatantra Kumar Singh, said that initially some part of the garbage will be burnt in the 'Waste Deposit Unit' of Pithampur and its ash will be scientifically examined to find out whether any harmful elements are left in it. He said that the smoke coming out of the burning of garbage in the incinerator will be passed through a special filter with 4 levels so that the surrounding air is not polluted. Singh said that a record of every moment of this process will be kept. He said that after the garbage is burnt and freed from harmful elements, its ash will be buried in the 'landfill site' by covering it with a strong 'membrane' of two layers so that it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

10 tons of waste was destroyed in 2015

Singh said that a team of experts will carry out this entire process under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board. Some local activists have claimed that during 2015, 10 tonnes of Union Carbide waste was destroyed in Pithampur as a test, after which the soil, underground water and water sources of the surrounding villages got polluted. Singh rejected this claim and said that the decision to dispose of this waste in Pithampur has been taken only after examining the report of the 2015 test and all the objections and there is nothing to worry about.