Survivors’ Organisations Warn MP Govt of Creation of a Slow-Motion Bhopal in and around Pithampur

Press Conference
December 18, 2024

At a Press Conference today, leaders of four organizations of survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal warned the state government of creation of a slow-motion Bhopal in and around Pithampur through the unsafe disposal of the overground waste from Union Carbide factory at the facility run by Re Sustainability Ltd.

“According to the technical presentation of the Ministry of Environment & Forests on the matter of incineration of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste, 900 tonnes of residue will be generated after incineration[1]. It is important to keep in mind that these 900 tonnes will have very high concentration of poisonous heavy metals.” said Rashida Bee, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh. “The so-called secure landfills at Pithampur have been leaking poisonous leachate for some years now. The officials have no way to ensure that the poisons from 900 tonnes of residue will not contaminate the sources of water in and around Pithampur.” she added.

Citing the scientific investigations carried out by a local media house, Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha said, “A report in yesterday’s newspaper mentions severe contamination of water sources around Pithampur and high prevalence of illnesses caused by the emissions and effluents from the facility run by Re Sustainability Ltd. Any trust we had on the MP Pollution Control Board has been badly shaken with the revelations in the newspaper report, because the Board has never mentioned these routine environmental crimes.”

Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information & Action said, “As per official plans, the incineration of hazardous waste from Bhopal is to be carried out for up to three and half months[2]. The population likely to be exposed to airborne poisons and particulate matters from the incinerator for such a long period is well over a hundred thousand. It is nothing short of deliberately creating a public health disaster.”

Speaking on the long history of opposition to the disposal of Union Carbide’s hazardous waste at Pithampur, Nawab Khan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said, “Mr. Jayant Mallaiya as the Environment Minister and Mr. Babulal Gaur as the Minister for Gas Relief had opposed plans of incinerating the Bhopal waste at Pithampur in several official meetings[3]. The Commissioner Gas Relief had in fact filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against incineration at Pithampur. We are bringing these facts out in the open now so that the officials currently in the process of turning Pithampur into a slow-motion Bhopal cannot say later that they did not know.”

Sources:

[1] Oversight Committee Minutes, June 2023 (page 13)
[2] Oversight Committee Minutes, June 2023 (page 14)
[3] Oversight Committee Minutes, September 2010 (page 3)

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