40 Years After Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Tonnes Of Toxic Waste Transported (screen grab from x.com/airnewsalerts)
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: Four decades after the Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy, 337 tonnes of toxic waste relocated from the Union Carbide factory site. 12 Trucks carrying tons of hazardous waste is being transported to the Pithampur on Wednesday night. The Pithampur is an industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km from Bhopal.
The convoy set off around 9 PM under tight security along a green corridor. More than 100 police personnel had been located to ensure the safe transport of the waste.
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“To ensure safety, traffic within a 2-kilometer radius around the containers has been stopped, with similar measures in place throughout the route. Five police vehicles are escorting the convoy,” Indian Express reported as a senior police officer is saying.
The relocation steps have started on Sunday afternoon as the waste being packed into bags for over four days. The waste, then started loading into containers on Tuesday night and completed the process by Wednesday afternoon.
Each truck possessed a unique identification number, and detailed route information. The route has been selected to reduced traffic disturbances at night. All these details shared with the district administration and police.
The trucks moved at a pace of 40-50 km per hour, and stopped briefly at prior decided points. Each container was supported by two drivers.
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Considered as one of the worst industrial disasters in the history, the Bhopal disaster occurred when highly toxic gas called methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide pesticides factory on December 2-3, 1984.
The move to shift the waste came Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 reproved authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite Supreme Court directions. They set a four-week deadline for waste removal and alerted contempt proceedings if not followed.
