BHOPAL: Opposition to the government’s planned disposal of Bhopal’s closed Union Carbide/Dow Chemical plant’s toxic waste in the Pithampur Industrial Area in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district is growing daily.Indore’s mayor and BJP leader Pushyamitra Bhargav joined the chorus, asking the government to “reconsider” the decision. He recalled the halting in the past of “attempts to incinerate it in Gujarat and later take it to Germany for disposal”.Bhargav, former additional advocate general, argued that the shifting complied with the MP High Court order of December 3, 2024. Therefore, the state’s chief secretary and principal secretary (Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department) must file a review petition in the HC. He insisted that getting the Pithampur people’s consent was essential before the disposal. Former students of MGM Medical College already filed a PIL in the MP High Court on Monday against the disposal without ensuring safety, security and rehabilitation plans of the people living in the area. The petitioners were worried the exercise might ended up causing the death of innumerable number of people.Abhinav P Dhanodkar, their counsel, contended that the latest planned disposal “might contaminate the Gambhir River and the Yashwant Sagar dam/reservoir also, which meets 30% of Indore’s drinking water needs”.Meanwhile, the state government has proceeded with the transportation and disposal plan. Allaying hazard fears, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department director Swatantra Kumar Singh said the process “will be completed before January 3”.
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