Bhopal, Jan 2 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday stressed that there should be no politics over the matter of shifting hazardous chemical waste from the spot of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy to the Pithampur dumping site, saying that all official and environmental norms are being followed to shift and dispose the toxic waste.
The Chief Minister's appeal came amid reservations and objections submitted by a group of activists along with local residents of Pithampur and school children who organised a protest against the shifting of toxic waste.
It has been learned that local politicians from across party lines, have also extended their support for agitation, and they have called 'Pithampur shutdown' on Friday.
According to information, a delegation of activists (protesters) will arrive in Bhopal to meet Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to express their concern on this matter. Sources told IANS that senior BJP leader and minister Kailash Vijayvargiya met the protesters at Pithampur and tried to convince them to end their protest on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, addressing a press conference here in Bhopal assured that chemical waste shifted from Union Carbide factory will be disposed by adhering to all environmental standards, adding that politics should not be played on such an issue.
"Disposal of hazardous waste is being done under the guidelines of Supreme Court and High Court after reviewing the report of trial disposal held in 2015, which turned out to be harmless. People of Bhopal have got a big relief from this development and there should be no politics on it," CM Yadav said.
The state government maintained that Pithampur's plant is specifically designed for the safe incineration of waste generated by industrial units across the state. In 2015, a trial run for disposing of 10 metric tonnes of waste of the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) as conducted under Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), supervision, adhering to all prescribed safety parameters.
It also said that the state-of-the-art treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) at Pithampur has been safely incinerating waste from various organisations since 2006, similar to the storage and operational processes at UCIL.
Director of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation department, Swatantra Kumar Singh said that after the 2015 trial run of UCIL waste disposal, emission levels were found to comply with the prescribed national standards. He said the finding also revealed that over the past 10 years in the Pithampur circle village, the cultivation area for soybean and wheat crops has increased.
"The results indicated that no harmful elements were detected in the air or water following the disposal process. The remaining residues from incineration were securely disposed of using a double composite liner system to ensure environmental safety," Swatantra Kumar Singh said.
Container-trucks loaded with 337 metric tonnes of chemical waste that rolled from Bhopal late on Wednesday night, reached Pithampur early on Thursday morning.
All 12 containers have been parked at the premises of Ramki factory located in Ashapura area in Pithampur of Dhar district.
According to official information, the total hazardous waste consists of nearly 162 metric tonnes of soil, 92 metric tonnes of sevin and naphthol residues, 54 metric tonnes of semi-processed pesticides, and 29 metric tonnes of reactor waste.
It also contains methyl isocyanate (MIC), linked to the 1984 gas leak disaster.
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