The shifting of some of the 377 tons of toxic waste from Bhopal’s abandoned Union Carbide factory began on Wednesday night, forty years after the gas tragedy, PTI reported.

The hazardous waste was moved in 12 leak-proof and fire-resistant containers 250 kms away to the Pithampur industrial area in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, where it will be disposed of.

“A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours,” PTI quoted Swatantra Kumar Singh, the director of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, as saying.

Since Sunday, about 100 persons had worked 30-minute shifts to pack and load the waste on the container trucks. “They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes,” Singh said.

The waste was packed in large high-density polyethylene bags to prevent chemical reactions.

The action came nearly a month after the Madhya Pradesh High Court criticised authorities for not clearing the site of the former plant despite directions from the Supreme Court. On December 3, the High Court had set a four-week deadline to shift the waste.

Singh said on Wednesday that “if everything is found to be fine”, the waste will be incinerated in Pithampur within three months. “Otherwise, it might take up to nine months,” he added.

Some of the waste will be burnt at the disposal unit and the ash will be examined to check for hazardous elements. Once it is confirmed that no harmful elements are left in the ash, the residue will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water, Singh was quoted as saying.

The smoke from the incinerator will pass through multi-layered filters to curb air pollution.

The process will be carried out under the supervision of officials of the central and state pollution control boards.

Activists in Pithampur have claimed that 10 tons of the waste had already been incinerated as part of a trial in 2015, which polluted the underground water in surrounding villages, PTI reported.

A protest march was held in Pithampur on Sunday against the disposal of the waste. Several organisations have called for a shutdown on Thursday, demanding that the waste instead be disposed of outside India, NDTV reported.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department rejected the claim, saying that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken based on the 2015 test report and after the objections were examined.

In December 1984, methyl isocyanate and other toxic gases leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Limited, then located on the outskirts of the state capital Bhopal.

More than five lakh persons were exposed to the toxic gases and at least 4,000 were killed in the following days. Thousands more died due to the effects of the gas leak in subsequent years. Government figures estimate that there have been 15,000 deaths as a result of the disaster over the years.

The survivors have increased rates of cancer and birth defects, and suffer from a compromised immune system. In April 2019, the International Labour Organization listed the Bhopal gas tragedy among the world’s major industrial accidents in the 20th century.

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