MP: Trial incineration of Union Carbide waste begins at Pithampur amid tight security

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 28 : The first trial incineration of 10 tonnes of hazardous waste linked to the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy began on Friday at a waste disposal factory in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, amidst tight security.
Indore Divisional Commissioner, Deepak Singh told ANI, "The process of waste disposal of the Bhopal's Union Carbide factory that has been brought to Pithampur has been started today. All the monitoring taking place is according to the criteria. There is no problem and we are continuously looking after the situation. All the information related to pollution is available in the public domain, and if you check the website of the Pollution Control Board, you will see the criteria under which the release of gases is being done."
He further added that the first phase of the trial run would be concluded within three days after that the second phase would begin and then the third phase.
Meanwhile, Indore IG Anurag told ANI, "After the direction of the court, the process of disposal of the waste has started and police personnel have been deployed at the site. We have been monitoring the situation here since yesterday and watching the activity of the protestors here as well. Strict action will be taken if someone tries to do anything wrong."
A lot of awareness work has been done among the public, so people have understood that there are no such harmful materials or gases in it. The procedure is being conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court and the High Court. There is a scattered deployment of police force everywhere and around 400-450 officers are present at the spot, he said.
While in the first phase of the trial run that began today, 10 tonnes of waste will be incinerated at the rate of 135 kg per hour, in the second phase scheduled for March 4, another 10 tonnes of the waste will be incinerated at rate of 180 kg per hour on March 4. Subsequently, in the third phase, 270 kg waste per hour is set to be disposed off.
The result of all the three phases of the trial run will be sent to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for evaluation. The CPCB will suggest on which speed rate the remaining waste should be disposed of. Thereafter, all the results of the trial run and the CPCB guidelines will be presented before the court on March 27.
Four decades after the tragic incident, 'Bhopal gas tragedy', a total of 337 metric tons of toxic waste materials from the Union Carbide factory site were shifted to Ramky company located in Pithampur, Dhar district for disposal on the night of January 1.
But due to fear among the public and protests staged by them, incineration of the waste was not initiated. Following the directions of the Court, the management of Union Carbide's hazardous waste started.
The Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster, occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, when deadly gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant, claiming thousands of lives.