Patwari challenges CM Yadav to debate over Carbide waste disposal plan

    Indore, Jan 12 (PTI) Congress leader Jitu Patwari on Sunday challenged Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to debate with him over the plan to dispose of 337 tonnes of Union Carbide waste at Pithampur in Dhar district.


    The Congress is supporting the demand of locals that this waste should not be incinerated in the industrial town, about 30 km from Indore.

    Locals fear the disposal of the waste would harm those living in Pithampur and its environment. However, the state government has dismissed these apprehensions, stressing that the waste would be disposed of in a scientific manner.

    Patwari told reporters that he was challenging CM Yadav to debate on any platform over the disposal plan.

    The locals have claimed that 10 tonnes of Union Carbide waste was incinerated in Pithampur in 2015 as a trial but it polluted the soil, groundwater and water sources of the surrounding villages. The state government, however, has rejected this claim.

    Patwari accused the state government of misleading the public regarding the waste disposal.

    “I challenge any representative of the state government to come with me and get the water from wells within a radius of 20 kilometres of Pithampur tested in any laboratory,” he said.

    The waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal was brought to an incineration unit operated by a private company in Pithampur on January 2, triggering violent protests. At present, the situation in this industrial area is peaceful.
    On January 6, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to take steps to dispose of the Carbide factory waste within six weeks while following safety guidelines.
    On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 persons and leaving thousands with serious injuries and long-lasting health issues.
    Patwari also targeted the ruling party over the attack by alleged supporters of a BJP corporator on the house of another corporator of the same party in Indore.
    “The BJP leaders, drunk on power, are leaving no stone unturned to tarnish the image of the city,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)