Name: Tejas Telkapalliwar

ID:181020065

A Review of Bhopal Gas Tragedy!

Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the perfect example of how technology when
used in an irresponsible manner can cause a great loss to Humanity. A lot of instances came
when the tragedy could have been averted but to no avail because of complacency of the
management. But what were the key aspects which led to this tragedy? The first and most
important aspect was that all the safety regulations were ignored for the cutting of costs
and make more profit. It would be fair to say that corporate greed for money cost the
human lives. All the safety checks and internal reports were ignored for profits. The Union
Carbide Company even tried to maintain its image by feeding lies to the people. The second
aspect was the complacency of government and lack of management which led to human
settlements which were very close to the hazardous pesticide plant. Now, a lot of people
might think that negligence due to 1-2 persons caused such a tragedy. But that is not the
case here, it started right after plant became operational. Here comes the third aspect that
is even the native people were not informed about the hazardous gas, its effects and how
it can be prevented by educating people about Methyl Isocyanide Gas (M-IC). The fourth
important aspect was the maintenance system which was not up to date and how it failed
to prevent the Tragedy. Even after having 3-4 safety measures which were available, not
one was able to function properly which caused the biggest industrial disaster.

Have humans learnt from such a big industrial disaster? I think here the
answer might still not be available right now. Because even after so many disasters big or
small, Mother Nature has warned us again and again that it will eventually lead to such
scenarios if its resources are not handled properly. Sustainable Development is a concept
talked about everyday but have we achieved it? I think that such a concept can only be
achieved if each and every root cause has been taken care of. A lot of people are coming
together to make this a reality. What we learnt from Bhopal Gas Tragedy is that each and
every human is responsible for the industrial disaster that occurred. The corporation
responsible for such loss of human lives which lasted 50 years or more is still not held
responsible to this day.

Some of the key lessons learnt were that Technology can be both
advantageous as well as disadvantageous if not utilized carefully. The safety checks
responsible should be implemented in each and every industry. The maintenance of each
and every industry should be done from time to time. Such hazardous plants should be
located in remote areas far from human settlements. Only skilled and experienced persons
should be kept in-charge of such sensitive units. Last and most important safety should not
be compromised for the sake of profits.

So, to conclude I would like to say that such tragedies can be prevented
if only we learnt the lessons from our past mistakes. The current pandemic is again trying
to tell us that there is still time to not make same mistakes or else Humanity will cease to
exist!