New Delhi:

The disposal of hazardous waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy has come under the Supreme Court’s scanner following a petition about the health risk to residents of Pithampur, where it has been shifted. The petition also pointed to the risks to the people of Indore, which is just 30 km away. 

Today, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih agreed to hear a petition challenging the orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that triggered the transfer.

The top court has sought responses from the Centre, Madhya Pradesh and its pollution control board.

Around 377 tonnes of waste from the now defunct Union Carbide factory was shifted to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal, recently.

The petition said at least four-five villages lie within the one km radius from the disposal site, saying the life and health of the residents are at “extreme risk,” the petition alleged. It also pointed out that the Gambhir river flows besides the facility and caters waters to the Yashwant Sagar Dam, which supplies drinking water of 40 per cent of Indore’s population.

It alleged the authorities have not informed the affected residents of Indore and Dhar districts about the risks or issued health advisories. 

On the night of December 2-3, 1984, highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide factory, causing one of the worst-ever industrial disasters in the world. It killed 5,479 people and maimed more than five lakh others. 

In its order in December last year, the Madhya Pradesh high court had rebuked the authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site despite directions from the Supreme Court. It set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a “state of inertia”. It had even warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.
 

Dhar:

Madhya Pradesh police have registered five cases against protesters in Pithampur of Dhar district who opposed the planned disposal of 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy in their town, an official said on Saturday.

Protests rocked Pithampur, around 50 km from the district headquarters, on Friday after toxic waste reached Ramky Enviro company, where the incineration is to be carried out.

The protests prompted the authorities to impose prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) banning the assembly of 50 or more persons around Ramky Enviro.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar Singh said five separate cases were registered on Friday night in connection with the protests for disrupting public peace.

He said in some cases, people were named, while in others, first information reports (FIRs) were registered against unidentified persons.

Singh said normalcy prevailed in Pithampur town on Saturday morning, and all industrial establishments were functioning.

According to police, cases were registered at Pithampur Sector-1 police station under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) sections 283 (the exhibition of false lights, marks, or buoys with the intent to mislead navigators), 341 (possession of counterfeit any seal, plate or other instruments with intent of forgery), 149 (collection of men, arms, or ammunition with the intention of waging war against the Government of India), 147 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India), 285 (causing danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way), 126 (2) (intentional obstruction of a person’s movement), 190 (unlawful assembly) and 191 (rioting).

During the protests on Friday, a mob of 500-600 people marched to Ramky Group’s Industrial Waste Management Private Limited premises, but the police dispersed them in time.

Two persons attempted self-immolation during demonstrations in several parts of the town amid a bandh call given by Pithampur Bachao Samiti. However, the quick response of the crowd prevented a tragedy, and the men were admitted to a local hospital.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a high-level meeting on Friday night to review the situation and decided to apprise the courts about the latest position on the issue and not proceed until further court orders in the matter.

He said the state government only transported the Union Carbide waste with safety parameters in compliance with the Supreme Court’s instructions and the High Court’s order.

The court had given a deadline for the waste to reach the designated place before January 4, he added.

Yadav took cognisance of the prevailing situation and said if any threat or sense of fear arises among the public about security, then the state government will try to present this subject before the court, and action will be taken only after this.

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

New Delhi:

Two men set themselves ablaze in Madhya Pradesh’s Pithampur on Friday during a protest against the disposal of hazardous waste from Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory. The men suffered burn injuries and have been hospitalised. 

Over 300 tonnes of the hazardous waste had been stored in the factory since the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 and had been moved in 12 containers to Pithampur in Dhar district for scientific disposal on Wednesday. Residents, under the banner of ‘Pithampur Bachao Samiti’, had called a bandh on Friday to protest against the planned incineration of the waste which, they claimed,  would harm the local people and environment.

During the bandh, which saw shops and markets remaining closed in the town, the two men – aged around 40 – poured an inflammable liquid on their bodies and set themselves ablaze, witnesses said. 

Police also carried out a lathicharge to disperse some protesters after they blocked a key road.

Pithampur has a population of about 1.75 lakh and its industrial area has nearly 700 factories.

Dhar Collector Priyank Mishra assured residents that there is no reason to worry.

“The protest over the disposal of the Union Carbide waste led to law and order issues today. Police and authorities are controlling them. No steps will be taken without taking local residents into confidence. The disposal is taking place using scientific methods and under the directions of the Supreme Court and the High Court. There is no question of keeping anyone in the dark,” he said. 

A similar message was also given by Dhar Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh.

“The Madhya Pradesh government has made it clear that the Union Carbide water will not be disposed of without the consent of Pithanpur. A meeting was held on this yesterday as well. Thus, there is no need for people to be anxious or try and take the law into their hands. The lives and well-being of the people is the top priority of the government,” he said. 

Protesters, however, questioned why the waste wasn’t incinerated in Bhopal itself or sent abroad.

High Court Order

At least 5,479 persons had died and thousands were left with long-lasting health issues after methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the night of December 2-3, 1984. 

The waste stayed in the factory for 40 years and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, on December 3 last year, pulled up the state government for not clearing it despite directives from various courts, including the Supreme Court. Rapping authorities for the “state of inertia”, it had set a four-week deadline for the waste to be removed. 

Why Pithampur?

Officials have said the waste disposal plant in Pithampur is the only state-of-the-art incineration plant in Madhya Pradesh. 

The waste will be burned on a special wooden platform 25 feet above the ground and strict scientific protocols will be followed to ensure there is no environmental contamination. Tests will be carried out to determine the best time to incinerate the waste based on factors like the season and ambient temperature. 

At a speed of 90 kg/hour, it will take approximately 153 days to dispose of all 337 tonnes of waste and 51 days if the speed is increased to 270 kg an hour.