The bandh in Pithampur city of Madhya Pradesh on Friday – called in protest of the planned incineration of 337 metric tons of the Bhopal gas tragedy waste from the union carbide factory in Bhopal – turned tense, as two men poured some inflammable liquid and set themselves afire.

Police and rescue workers rushed the two persons, both aged around 40 years, to a hospital at Pithampur. Later, they were sent to a private hospital at nearby Indore, some 30 km away. Authorities said both men remained hospitalized but they were out of danger.

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Dhar Collector Priyank Mishra and SP Manoj Kumar Singh appealed to the people to maintain peace and calm in the district, and particularly in the Pithampur industrial town. Both officials requested people not to take the law in their hands as the government and the authorities were sensitive towards their concerns.The officials, nonetheless, said sternly that anyone who still tried to create any disturbance would be dealt with strictly.

Meanwhile, shops and markets remained closed in the town amid the bandh call by ‘Pithampur Bachao Samiti’, which claims that the planned incineration of the Carbide waste in the area would harm the local people and environment.

Around 500 to 600 protesters marched towards the Industrial Waste Management Private Limited of the ‘Ramky Enviro Group’, where the waste would be incinerated, but heavy police force was deployed and cops used mild force to drive away the protesters.

Amidst the increasing protests at Pithampur, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav had informed on Thursday that the said waste comprised 60 per cent mud and 40 per cent naphthol, used to make pesticide Methyl Isocyanate (MIC). The CM claimed that the waste was “not at all harmful.” He also averred that the issue should not be politicised.

The 337 metric tons of toxic waste, lying in the union carbide factory for 40 years since the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, was finally removed on the night of 1 January, and it reached its destination Pithampur at around 4.30 AM on 2 January, for incineration.The waste was transported in 12 special container trucks that had set out on their 250-km journey to Pithampur near Indore through a specially created green corridor at around 9 pm on 1 January. The process of incineration has not yet begun.

The MP High Court on 3 December 2024 had set a four-week deadline to shift the toxic waste from the Bhopal factory. According to official figures, about 5500 people were killed and five lakh were injured in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which occurred due to the leak of MIC (Methyl Isocyanate) gas from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984. It is termed to be one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.