Union Carbide waste disposal: 2 protesters attempt self-immolation in Pithampur, hospitalised

Two men were hospitalised after they set themselves afire on Friday amid a bandh call in Madhya Pradesh’s Pithampur against the planned disposal of 337 tonnes of Union Carbide waste in the industrial town, an official said.

During one of the protests against the waste disposal in the town in the Dhar district, two persons poured some liquid on their bodies and set themselves on fire, according to eyewitnesses and a video shot at the scene.

Eyewitnesses said the two men, both aged around 40, were rushed to a hospital in Pithampur, about 30 km from Indore.

“From the local facility, they have been moved to a private hospital in Indore. Both were out of danger. The situation is under control but tense,” Dhar Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said over the phone from a protest site near Pithampur bus stand.

Protests were also held at other places in the town, he said.

Shops and markets remained closed in the town amid the bandh call by ‘Pithampur Bachao Samiti’, which claims that the planned incineration of the Carbide waste in the area would harm the local people and environment.

Pithampur has a population of about 1.75 lakh. Its industrial area here has nearly 700 factories in three sectors.

On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 persons and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues in Bhopal.

The authorities have shifted 337 tonnes of waste from the Carbide factory to Pithampur for scientific disposal, though the move has triggered protests. The material from Bhopal reached an incineration unit in Pithampur on Thursday.

Amid the bandh call in Pithampur, which saw shops and markets remaining closed on Friday, a group of protesters blocked the road near Eicher Motors, but police prevailed over them and restored normal traffic with mild cane charge.

Sandeep Raghuvanshi, who has been on a hunger strike at the bus stand since Thursday, said a large number of people have expressed solidarity with him over his protest against the disposal of the Union Carbide waste in Pithampur.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had on December 3 rebuked the authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite court directives, including that of the Supreme Court.

It had 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”.

The high court had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.

Meanwhile, heavy police deployment has been made in Pithampur to maintain law and order.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday addressed doubters and said the issue should not be politicised. He asserted the waste comprised 60 per cent mud and 40 per cent naphthol used to make pesticide MIC and was “not at all harmful”.