Bhopal gas tragedy: CM Mohan Yadav to visit Union Carbide factory

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will visit the Union Carbide factory site of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy on Saturday. The visit follows last year's court-ordered disposal of 337 metric tonnes of toxic waste from the infamous site.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is scheduled to visit the Union Carbide factory premises of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy in the state capital on Saturday. During the visit, the Chief Minister will also hold discussions with senior officials about matters and other concerns related to the site.

Toxic Waste Disposal Completed

It is noteworthy that last year, in accordance with the directives of the court, the Madhya Pradesh government successfully disposed of the toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory site. The toxic waste, which originated from the Union Carbide factory site in Bhopal, was transported to Pithampur in Dhar district for safe disposal on the night of January 1, 2025.

Four decades after the tragic incident of the '1984 Bhopal gas tragedy', a total of 337 metric tonnes of toxic waste materials were shifted to Ramky company located in Pithampur. But due to fear among the public and protests staged by them, incineration of the waste was not initiated.

Court-Mandated Incineration Process

Following the directions of the court, the management of Union Carbide's hazardous waste was started and finally incinerated. The incineration of 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Gas Tragedy was completed at the waste disposal factory on June 30 last year.

Speaking to ANI then, Regional Officer of Pollution Control Board Indore, Srinivas Dwivedi said, "337 tonnes of waste from Bhopal's Union Carbide factory was received for incineration and out of which 30 tonnes were incinerated as a trial run as per the instructions of Madhya Pradesh High Court between February 27 and March 12. After that, the High Court again instructed on March 27 to dispose of the remaining waste at the rate of 270 kg per hour. Following this, we began incineration of the waste from May 5, and it concluded in the early hours of June 30. The whole waste has been disposed of."

The 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The Bhopal gas tragedy, touted as the world's worst industrial disaster, claimed the lives of several thousand people after a deadly gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984. The tragedy unfolded in Bhopal, when the highly dangerous and toxic gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), escaped from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) and resulted in the death of 5,295 human beings, injuries to almost 5,68,292 persons, besides loss of livestock and loss of property of almost 5,478 persons.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)