BHOPAL: In the wake of protests in Pithampur industrial town of Dhar district against the planned incineration of 40-year-old 358 metric tonnes of toxic waste of Bhopal’s defunct Union Carbide plant, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to convey to the Court the apprehensions, concerns and sentiments of the western MP industrial town.
“Our government accords top priority to the public interest. The toxic waste of the Union Carbide plant has been transported to the waste disposal center in Pithampur in pursuance of the last month’s High Court order, directing us to shift the waste safely to the waste treatment and disposal facility in Pithampur in four weeks, before the next date of hearing on January 6. Keeping in mind the public concerns and apprehensions, we’ve decided to not progress any further (on incineration of waste) in the matter, till the next court order. The government will present before the court, entire concerns, sentiments and apprehensions of the local residents related to the planned disposal of waste and wait for the next court order to act any further,” MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav said, after chairing a long emergency meeting of the government’s top brass over the issue in Bhopal on Friday late night.
The MP High Court is scheduled to hear on January 6, the 2004 petition on which it had ordered the state government on December 3, 2024 to shift the toxic waste out of Bhopal (for the planned disposal) within four weeks.
Around 11 hours after the Friday late-night emergency meeting in Bhopal, however, one stray incident of stone pelting by local residents was reported on Saturday morning, outside the treatment-storage-disposal facility (TSDF) where the 358 tonnes of toxic waste is planned to be incinerated.
“Possibly out of some rumours about the waste transported to the TSDF in Pithampur from Bhopal on January 2 morning, more than 100 residents from the Tarpura village (where the waste treatment and disposal plant is based) pelted stones outside the plant and also tried to spray chilly powder in the eyes of the on-duty cops on Saturday morning. The police, however, chased the mob, including women and also fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitated villagers. A case will be lodged in the matter later this evening,” a senior state police officer camping in Pithampur town told this newspaper.
The incident happened at around 10.30 am on Saturday, even as prohibitory orders have been imposed around the TSDF in Pithampur town by the Dhar district administration.
Also, five FIRs have been registered by local police in connection with the public disturbance created by protestors in Pithampur town during the Pithampur Bandh call on Friday. One of the FIRs pertains to the incident in which two men attempting self-immolation during the public protest, had suffered burn injuries.
“The probe into that incident strongly suggests that it was a third person, who actually lit up the flame, which caught both the men (attempting self-immolation) by surprise. Further investigations are underway,” the police officer said.
Meanwhile, top administrative and police officials of the Indore region met with public representatives and prominent citizens of Pithampur on Saturday for around 45 minutes and conveyed the message from the MP CM, assuring them that their grievances and concerns about the planned waste incineration will be presented before the High Court on January 6. Till the next court direction, nothing will happen on disposal of waste at the TSDF.
Located around 50 km from Dhar district headquarters and 30 km from Indore city, Pithampur is a prominent industrial town of MP, which houses 700 factories (most of them related to the automobile sector) and around Rs 1.75 lakh population.
