MP: Trial disposal of Union Carbide begins in Pithampur after SC refuses to intervene
Supreme Court refuses to intervene; authorities proceed with incineration under strict protocols and heavy security.
Bhopal: The process for the first trial disposal of ten of the 337 tons of toxic waste, shifted from the Union Carbide plant premises here to Pithampur in Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh recently for incineration, began on Thursday after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the matter.
“Preparations have begun for the first trial burning of the Union Carbide waste in Pithampur incineration facility”, Indore Division Commissioner Deepak Singh said.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court disposed of the petitions seeking a stay on the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s recent directive to burn the Union Carbide waste in the Pithampur facility by refusing to intervene in the matter.
The apex court has asked the petitioners, opposing the disposal of the Union Carbide waste in Pithampur, to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court, currently hearing the case.
“Agencies concerned such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) and other related firms are working (for trial disposal of Union Carbide waste) according to the protocols, fixed by the court.
Arrangements have been made to maintain law and order in Pithampur town”, the local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Pramod Gurjar said.
Official sources said that more than 600 policemen have been mobilized from two dozen police stations for deployment in the industrial town to maintain law and order in the wake of the move to go for the first trial burning of the waste in the Pithampur facility.
Those who are opposing the disposal of the waste in Pithampur have decided to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking to review its earlier order, Sandeep Raghuvamsi, one of the protesters, said.
Around 347 tons of toxic wastes were stored in the premises of the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal after the leakage of deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas in the factory on the intervening night of December two- three, 1984, leading to the death of 5,479 people, officially.
However, the unofficial death toll figure was put at over 10,000.
A trial disposal of 10 tons of the waste was done in the Pithampur incineration facility a few years ago.
But the move to dispose of the entire waste of Union Carbide was later suspended due to opposition by the local people.
On January six, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to initiate steps within six weeks to dispose of the waste by following safety guidelines.
The industrial town erupted in protests when the Union Carbide wastes were shifted in containers from Bhopal to Pithampur on January two, leading the state government to launch a public awareness campaign on the safe disposal of the waste.
