Bhopal: 70% Of Water In 19 Colonies Near Union Carbide Factory Found Contaminated With Fecal Bacteria

Naidunia Correspondent, Bhopal | It has been 42 years since the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (Union Carbide incident), the world's largest industrial disaster, but its effects are still visible in Madhya Pradesh's capital city. After 337 metric tons of toxic chemical waste was sent from the factory to the Pithampur plant in Dhar district on January 1, 2025, it was claimed that the toxicity had been eliminated in the city, but that is not the case. Even now, 70 per cent of the drinking water in 19 communities surrounding the Union Carbide factory has been found to contain fecal coliform.

Representatives of four organisations fighting for the rights of gas victims made this claim on Friday while presenting an investigation report on the drinking water supplied in these areas.

43 Of 63 Water Samples Tested Positive For Fecal: Activists

They also alleged that the Bhopal Municipal Corporation is waiting to create a situation similar to Indore's Pithampur by supplying sewage-contaminated water to the localities. Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, stated that 63 water samples were taken from taps in 30 communities surrounding the Union Carbide factory, and 43 of them tested positive for fecal coliform. This clearly demonstrates that drinking water supplied to 19 of the 30 communities is contaminated with feces. 90 per cent of water samples supplied from the Upper Lake (Bada Talab) and 25 per cent of water samples supplied from the Kolar Dam were found to be contaminated.

As a result, residents of these localities are vulnerable to illnesses and problems caused by drinking fecally contaminated water. Families are complaining of diarrhoea and vomiting, and private clinics are seeing a high number of typhoid cases.

Drinking Water From 19 Localities Found To Be Contaminated

The 19 localities where drinking water was found to be contaminated include Annu Nagar, Atal Ayub Nagar, Blue Moon Colony, Chandan Nagar, Chandbari, Garib Nagar, JP Nagar, Kalyan Nagar, Nawab Colony, New Arif Nagar, Preet Nagar, Prem Nagar, Shankar Nagar, Shivnagar Phase 3, Shivshakti Nagar, Shivnagar Phase 1, Gupta Nagar, Shivnagar Phase 3, Sundar Nagar, and Oriya Basti. Drinking water from 11 communities was found to be clean. The 20 drinking water samples found to be clean in the test report came from 11 communities. These include Dwarka Nagar, Ahle Hadish, Kainchi Chola, Kainchi Chola New Block, Krishna Nagar, New Kabadikhana, Nishatpura Brijvihar Colony, Futa Maqbara, Rajghar, Shaheen Colony, and Shakti Nagar.

"We shouldn't wait for a loss of life, like in Bhagirathpura, to punish officials who are violating Supreme Court orders and endangering residents' health. We demand that a sewage and drainage plan be implemented in a timely manner in this area, and that an independent monitoring system for drinking water quality be immediately established," said Rachna Dhingra, president, Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

Balkrishna Namdev, president, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha, said in August 2018, in response to complaints of faecal contamination in pipeline water, the Apex Court directed the Bhopal Municipal Corporation to lay sewage lines and ensure proper drainage in this area. The BMC promised to complete this work within three months, but not a single step has been taken in this direction in the last eight years, he added.

"In 2004, the Supreme Court acknowledged that Union Carbide's toxic waste had contaminated residents' water with toxic chemicals and heavy metals. To protect residents from these toxic elements, it ordered the laying of pipelines and the provision of clean drinking water," said Rashida B, President, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh.

Kuldeep Gupta, Public Health Specialist, AIIMS Bhopal, said the gas victims' organisations have submitted reports on drinking water samples claiming the presence of fecal coliform in the water. "This is a bacteria from feces, and leakage in drinking water and sewage lines can lead to such conditions. The responsible agency should stop the supply and rectify this as soon as possible. If timely rectification is not done, the situation in Bhagirathpura, caused by drinking water contaminated with fecal bacteria, could recur in these areas."