Senior officials on Sunday visited the unit in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, where 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy is set to be incinerated, for inspection after a rumour spread on social media that one of the containers carrying the waste had gone missing.
Information was being spread through Whatsapp groups that one of the containers carrying the waste had gone missing from the premises, after which a group comprising residents and elected representatives visited the site and confirmed all containers are accounted for, said Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Pramod Singh Gurjar.
People must not pay heed to such rumours, Gurjar said.
Pithampur Bacaho Samiti convener Hemant Hirole said the delegation, of which he was a part, inspected the site and found all the containers were in place in sealed and unloaded condition.
The hazardous waste had reached Ramky Enviro Company, where the incineration will take place, on Thursday.
Local lawyer Rajesh Chaudhary said all 12 containers were in the same condition as they were brought in from Bhopal.
Protests rocked Pithampur, an industrial town some 50 kilometres from Dhar district headquarters, on Friday amid a bandh call given by a local outfit which said the disposal of such waste would harm residents, waterbodies and the environment.
On Saturday, a group of 100-150 persons had pelted stones at the gate of the firm, after which authorities clamped prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsa Sanhita (BNSS) around the premises. It will be in force till January 12.
Amid protests, the Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday said it would request the High Court to grant it more time to carry out the task of disposing of the waste.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had on December 3 pulled up the state government for the 40-year delay in disposing of the waste and set a four-week deadline to transport it to a disposal site, is expected to hear the matter next on January 6.
"We will pray to the Madhya Pradesh High Court to grant us more time to dispose of the waste scientifically. It will be done after taking the people into confidence," state chief secretary Anurag Jain had told reporters on Saturday.
On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 persons and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues in Bhopal.
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