Fire breaks out at Union Carbide warehouse

By Bhavana ‘Aparajita’

Shukla

After the devastation in 1984, the Union Carbide shutdown the site but left it to rust that has never been cleaned up. On Monday afternoon, fire broke out at Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory warehouse. Fortunately, no loss of life or property reported but it has pressed the alarm for authorities. With the prompt action of Police and Fire Bridge team the fire incident at Union Carbide warehouse was brought under control but the episode left larger question before the Government to take steps for the treatment of toxic chemical waste kept in the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. Exclusively talking to ‘The Hitavada’, Bhopal Police Commissioner Harinarayan Chari Mishra confirmed the news of fire at the factory site. “It was localised and very soon it was doused. No casualty or loss of property reported”, CP Mishra said.

According to the information, within 20 minutes fire was doused off, since it was not dense. Eyewitnesses say that the plastic tank had caught fire. The people residing close to the Union Carbide factory saw smoke billowing out from the campus. They rushed to the spot to find that a tank kept there had caught fire. The police and the fire brigade were informed immediately, who rushed to the spot. Since long time debate over the incineration of toxic waste is going on but even after passing almost 40 years nothing has been done. As scientific testing of groundwater and well water near the site revealed mercury levels up to 6m times greater than what is accepted as safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Fire brings back memory of fateful night

The world’s worst industrial disaster was witnessed by Bhopalites on the night of December 2-3, 1984. The cloud of poisonous gas (called methyl isocyanate (MIC)) that leaked from at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in what is considered over 5,00,000 people in the small towns around the plant were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC). Estimates vary on the death toll, with the official number of immediate deaths being 2,259. The incident still blights the lives of tens of thousands of people in the city, including many not born then.

Disposal of waste remains a challenge

At the beginning of the 2024 year, The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motto cognisance of reports that hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste on the premises of Bhopal gas tragedy site have not been disposed of by authorities, even after 39 years of the accident, leading to contamination of groundwater. Talking to ‘The Hitavada’, Bhopal Lok Sabha contestant told that he will work for its incineration and a park will be build up at this place. Hope this time, political parties will show immense sense and solve this issue. It seems that our authorities have not taken lessons that have to do with basic human concerns, for safety, for standards and for good sense. If the lessons are lost then it is all too possible that accidents such as this may be repeated in another factory in another city in another way..