Bhopal gas tragedy: Even after 39 years since the toxic gas leak from the now-defunct Union Carbide factory on the chilly night of December 2 in Bhopal that killed thousands of people, the horrific incident continues to give nightmares to the survivors. At least 3,787 people lost their lives and over 5 lakh were physically affected after a toxic gas leaked from the pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984.
Bhopal gas tragedy victims recount the horror
Mahendrajeet Singh (79), a gas leak victim, who is a retired chief reservation superintendent of railways, said that he saw people collapsing dead on the chilly night of December 3 when he shuddered in fear and trembled.
“My family was asleep around 2 am when shouts and cries of people in the railway colony some distance from the Union Carbide factory woke us up. We ran out of the house and fled on a scooter and on foot to escape the gas emanating from the killer factory,” he said while recalling the fateful night.
Singh, who is the president of All India Retired Railwaymen Federation Western Zone, said that his family spent the night at a hotel 4 km from their residence.
A few years later, Singh lost his mother and younger brother who were exposed to toxic gas.
"Three days after the gas leak, I noticed the leaves of a peepal tree near our house had fallen and it appeared dead and lifeless," he said.
Singh said that there were rumours after the tragedy that the remaining toxic gas would be released from the factory.
“In light of such unconfirmed reports, we sought refuge in the neighbouring Hoshangabad district,” he said.
The former railwayman said that several of his colleagues had become the victims of the tragedy and had died, while those who survived were living with ailments, especially breathing problems.
Retired station master recalls the dreadful night
Rambali Prasad Verma (83), a retired assistant station master, said he was lucky to survive the disaster.
"My duty at the railway cabin located close to the boundary wall of the Union Carbide factory ended at 10 pm on the night of December 2," he recounted.
Around midnight, when the gas leak incident took place in the factory, Verma was at his house in the railway colony near the railway station.
"We ran helter-skelter to escape the poisonous gas and found refuge in an Army vehicle at a far-off place," he said.
He returned home along with his family at daybreak, but again left a few hours later due to the rumours that the remaining toxic gas would be released at around 11 am on December 3.
After some days, Verma's family went to Indore and returned when things settled down.
"When I think of that chilly night, I start shivering. I have breathing problems and asthma as I was exposed to the gas," the octogenarian said.
(With PTI inputs)
