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Bhopal Gas Tragedy: The terrible night of 2 December 1984 still scares the people of Bhopal, when poisonous air had killed thousands of people.
3 December, 2025
Bhopal Gas Tragedy: The most dreadful night in the history of India was 2 December 1984, when people sleeping peacefully in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, did not wake up the next morning. On that fateful night, a poisonous wind silently put thousands of people to death. On the night of 2-3 December, such poison was found in the air, which took the lives of 2500 to 3000 people within a few hours. Not only were living people killed, even the lives in the womb could not be saved. Not only this, the poison has got mixed into the soil, water and air of Bhopal to such an extent that even today children are being born disabled there.
Poison leaked from the factory
There was a factory named Union Carbide Limited in Bhopal, where pesticides were manufactured. That factory was also a source of employment for the local people, but on the night of 2-3 December, this factory snatched away the lives of people in Bhopal. Dangerous gas methyl isocyanate started leaking from tank number 610 of the factory. Within a few hours this gas got mixed into the air, soil and water of Bhopal city. 40 tons of poisonous gas slowly entered the nearby streets and houses and got inhaled by the people.
dead bodies were lying on the streets
People started suffocating and their eyes started burning. They fell on the ground in agony. Gradually his breathing stopped. There was shouting all around. No one could understand what happened suddenly. Within a few hours the entire city was transformed into a gas chamber, from which it was not possible to get out. There was a rush of patients in the hospitals, but even the doctors were not able to understand how to stop the effect of one gas. People including children started running on the streets in search of help and eventually collapsed there. By morning dead bodies were seen lying on the streets. The next morning no one could believe that Bhopal was yearning for life throughout the night.
That night still scares after 41 years
Fifty thousand people were treated in the first two days, but the number of victims was so high that resources ran short. In this accident, about 3000 people lost their lives immediately and thousands of people became physically weak forever. According to government figures, the total death toll ranges from 5000-5500, but many independent reports say that 20-22 thousand people were killed. Even pregnant women of that time later gave birth to children who were born physically and mentally weak. After this terrible accident, the business and market all came to a standstill. People started migrating in droves in trains. Today it has been 41 years since that holocaust. Even today, remembering that terrible night, people’s souls tremble.
Toxic waste still exists
Even after 41 years of the gas tragedy, the threat of toxic waste has not diminished. Now the 899 tonnes of poisonous ash generated by burning that waste has become a new headache for the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board. This ash was formed during the burning of 337 metric tons of Union Carbide waste at the Pithampur Treatment Plant between May-June 2025. The hazardous ash lies in leak-proof containers in a shed and there is no clean system for disposing of it. Even today the victims are demanding proper compensation and justice.
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