Bhopal gas tragedy: MP govt plans Hiroshima & Nagasaki type memorial; cost pegged at over Rs 1,200 crore

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh govt aims to develop a memorial in honour of those who were killed and maimed by the MIC gas leak from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of Dec 2 & 3, 1984, on the lines of memorials developed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

The proposed gas memorial at the abandoned Union Carbide factory site in Bhopal was planned to re-live the Bhopal Gas disaster, reminding visitors of the horrific past, its impact and trauma on the residents, besides showcasing to the world how Bhopal has moved forward as a modern city shunning the tag of the place where the world's biggest industrial catastrophe took place.

The memorials in Japan served as reminders of the 1945 atomic bombings.

The development plan for the memorial at the Carbide site came after incineration of toxic waste from Bhopal factory premises at the TSDF facility in Pithampur in 2025. The govt would come up with a master plan for around 90 acres of land for the purpose after the CM's announcement of a memorial on Saturday.

Apart from a memorial, the govt considered setting up an institute on industrial disaster, a wall with names of Bhopal gas disaster victims, a museum with literature on the world’s largest industrial catastrophe and more. The cost of developing the Bhopal gas tragedy site was expected to be over Rs 1200 cr.


CM Mohan Yadav said on Saturday, “the govt will consult all sections of the society and affected stakeholders and proceed with the development of the Union Carbide Factory campus. Under the guidance of the high court, a memorial will be built in the now-clean premises in memory of those who lost their lives in the Bhopal gas tragedy.”


Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation department director Swatantra Kumar Singh said, “It (Carbide waste disposal) was the first scientifically done industrial waste transportation and disposal in the country following highest international parameters,” he added. Officials said it would ensure that the artefacts and original structures at the factory premises were retained. The govt mulled opening a research institute that would work to avert industrial disasters, officials added.