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Bhopal Gas Tragedy- 39 years since the horror took over

Bhopal Gas Tragedy: In 1984, more than 15,000 people were killed when poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the night of December 2 and 3. Now this factory is closed. The Bhopal gas disaster...
03:06 PM Dec 02, 2023 IST | Preeti Dalal

Bhopal Gas Tragedy: In 1984, more than 15,000 people were killed when poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the night of December 2 and 3. Now this factory is closed.

The Bhopal gas disaster of 1984 was the state's worst disaster ever. Even after 39 years, the impact of this tragedy is being seen in the people here. At the same time, different effects are being seen in people exposed to the gas.

An NGO has claimed that people exposed to gas leakage are three times more likely to develop diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, neuropathy, and arthritis than non-gas sufferers. An NGO working in the interest of gas victims made the claim on Friday (December 1), a day before the 39th anniversary of the gas disaster.

Recently, a web series called Railwayman has also been made on this tragedy. What happened instantly in this tragedy that happened 39 years ago… read in this report…

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Thirty years ago, on December 2-3, 1984, a painful incident took place in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. In history, it is named Bhopal Gas Tragedy. A poisonous gas leak from a Bhopal-based company called Union Carbide's factory caused the loss of more than 15,000 lives and left many people suffering from blindness to various physical disabilities, who are still dealing with the tragedy.

Methyl iso syenite was leaked

In the Bhopal gas disaster, a toxic gas called methyl isocyanate (MIC) was leaked, which was used to make pesticide. Estimates of the death toll vary as different sources have their opinions, although the official death toll was initially reported as 2,259.

Even today, tears flow in the eyes of the victims remembering the horrific incident

The then government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed the death toll at 3,787, while other estimates suggest that more than 8,000 people died in two weeks, and nearly 8,000 more died of diseases spread by the leaked gas. Even today the eyes of the victims are filled with tears remembering the horrific incident.

What happened that night?

It was a bitterly cold night, people were sleeping peacefully. On December 2, 1984, at the Union Carbide Factory located on Cholla Road, Bhopal, as usual, officials, employees, and laborers were doing their work in the plant area. But no one knew that thousands would die tonight. On the night of December 2, 1984, gas leaked from the plant and a disaster occurred. The night shift of the Union Carbide factory had arrived, where supervisors and workers were doing their jobs.

December 2, 1984, at 9 p.m

About half a dozen workers had set out to clear the pipelines near the underground tank.

December 2, 1984, at 10 p.m

A chemical process started in the factory's underground tank; the temperature of the tank reached 200 degrees, and gas started to form.

December 2, 1984, at 10:30 PM

Gas from the tank started reaching the pipe. Gas started leaking from the tower as the valve was not closed properly.

December 3, 1984, at 12:15 pm

The employees present there started panicking. An attempt was made to close the valve, but then the danger siren started sounding.

December 3, 1984, at 12:50 pm

People living in nearby settlements started suffering from suffocation, cough, burning eyes, flatulence, and vomiting.

December 3, 1984, at 1:00 p.m

The stampede had already started before the police could be alerted. But the factory operator said - there was no leakage.

December 3, 1984, at 2:00 p.m

After some time, a crowd of patients gathered in the hospital premises.

December 3, 1984, at 2:10 pm

Alarm sounds from the factory, and people rushed out of the house due to health problems. The gas had spread throughout the city.

December 3, 1984, at 4:00 am

Thousands of people who fell asleep became poison gas patients in no time. Meanwhile, the gas leakage was overcome.

December 3, 1984, at 6:00 am

Police vehicles started blaring warnings through loudspeakers in every area. Thousands of gas-affected people were either dying on the streets of the city or desperately running here and there for their lives.

Deaths across the city

34 years ago in 1984, on the night of December 2nd and the morning of December 3rd, that black night of Bhopal that killed thousands of people. A poisonous gas leak from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal had caused a spate of deaths across the city.

Chief Managing Officer Warren Anderson fled India overnight

After this tragedy, Chief Managing Officer of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, left India overnight and fled to his country, America. Warren Anderson, the then head of Union Carbide India Limited and the prime accused in the tragedy, died on September 29, 2014.

Here children are born with many abnormalities

In 2014, the film 'Bhopal A Prayer of Rain' was made on this accident. Many of the children born in Bhopal after the tragedy were born with disabilities, and many came into this world with some other illness. This horrible process is still going on, and babies are being born here with many abnormalities. Recently, a web series called Railwayman has also been made on this tragedy.

Any small mishap should never be ignored

Safety standards must be strictly followed in any factory. Every employee should also pay full attention to safety standards. Any small mishap should never be ignored. In the industrial sector, the entire staff in plants, companies, and offices should be updated once by training them on safety, relief, and rescue methods. Gas factories that are hazardous to human health should be built away from the city

Tags :
1984AbnormalitiesBhopalDeath tollDecember 2-3diseasesGas TragedyHazardous gasIndustrial safetyMadhya pradeshMethyl isocyanate (MIC)NGOPesticide factoryPoisonous gas leakRailwaymanRelief and rescue methodsSafety standardsUnion CarbideVictimsWarren Andersonweb series
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