There are hundreds of tons of squander decaying in a warehouse, with tin roof, at the corner of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. This pesticide factory has been storing this waste for more than two decades after the poison gas leak incident of Bhopal that had killed thousands and had turned the city into a tarnished disaster industrial zone.
Unfortunately for the residents, the toxic remains are yet to be carted away. There has been no examination on the extent of the damage, after almost a quarter century passing away. The waste has seeped through the soil and water and despite the desultory investigations and check there has been no initiative to make this place habitable. Surveys reveal that the pesticide residue here exceeds the permissible levels.
There has been no botheration to look after the concerns of residents who consume the water, or tend their garden soils with this water. The result is a range of ailments like mental retardation amongst children and cleft palates. The second generation of the Bhopal tragedy is still infected with these ailments even as sources of these afflictions remain to be determined.
What are the reasons for the ineffective apathy of the bureaucrats of India and lack of the government’s initiative to prevent further actions? It seems that this epic tale of futility has left the 11 acre site in a country which is awaiting forest investments and attractions. The disaster had struck on the 3rd of December 1984 when a tank inside the factory had released about 40 tons of methyl isocyanate and killed everyone who inhaled it, even as they were asleep. It had been rated as the worst industrial catastrophe which killed at least 3,000 people. An estimate of 500,000 people had been affected with the gas and had been given compensation of about $550 dollars, with many victims claiming that they were yet to receive the money.
The battle for the tragedy and cleaning up the area continues with the advocates living near the site refusing to let the tragedy be forgotten. Dow Chemical, the company that had bought Union Carbide in 2001, is being pressurized to pay for the clean up. The contamination of the underground water could have been prevented if the clean up had been done earlier. The Dow Chairman had written to the Indian Ambassador to the U.S in the year 2006, seeking assurance from the government for not being liable for the waste on the site. As negotiations between the government and the Dow Chemical continue the people keep suffering from health hazards due to the squander.
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