Union Carbide Bhopal

Union Carbide Bhopal symbolizes one of the most tragic accidents in the industrial history of India. Being set up in the late hours of 1970s, Union Carbide is a division of the Union Carbide India Limited or UCIL. Equipped with 14 operational chemical plants, Union Carbide in India has a total man power of 9000. Union Carbide in Bhopal is mainly engaged in pesticide production. In fact a large portion of the pesticides used by the farmers of India is supplied by Union Carbide division of Bhopal.

In the the industrial history of Bhopal, Union Carbide disaster claims a prominent place. On December 8, 1984, the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal came under the grip of such a chemical havoc which changed the entire scenario of its reputation. The chemical called methyl isocyanate started spreading from an in-house tank of the Bhopal plant and within a very short time managed to affect a large portion of the local population.

It is believed that as many as 38, 000 causalities occurred due to such gas leakage from the Union Carbide plant of Bhopal. After getting the tragic news, the chairman of Union Carbide at Connecticut came down to India where he had been kept under house arrest.

In the month of February, 1985, Union Carbide set up an Employees' Relief fund for those who have lost their relatives or have become permanently incapable of work due to the harsh effects of the chemical leakage. Bhopal Gas Leak Act had been passed in the same year of 1985 and a promise to enact strict chemical protection laws has been provided by the then government of Bhopal. From the year 2004 to 2006, the government of Madhya Pradesh took several initiatives to rehabilitate and facilitate the victims of Union Carbide tragedy.

Union Carbide Bhopal truly reminds the hapless state of all those who suffered the acute after-effects of the gas leakage.