The Hindu : National : Shades of Bhopal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 07, 2004

National

National

Shades of Bhopal

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, JULY 6. Hundreds of people, most of them children, reported breathlessness and eye irritation in the wake of the fire at the Hindustan Insecticides plant at Udyogamandal early on Tuesday. Ranya, 16, a resident of Kuzhikandam Creek in Eloor was referred to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences here with symptoms of inhalation of fumes.

She was throwing up when she was brought to a medical camp organised by the district administration.

The medical team examined about 300 people. Ranya is the only one to have been admitted to hospital.

The fire and the fumes triggered a thousand alarms in the Eloor panchayat and sent hundreds of people scurrying to the relative safety of neighbouring Manjummel and Paravoor.

Ranya represents a panchayat that virtually lives on the edge. The 11.21-sq km area with a population of over 40,000 has five major and seven minor chemical industrial units that handle products ranging from Endosulfan to chlorine.

No wonder, as rumours spread on Tuesday morning, the spectre of Bhopal, the world's worst industrial accident that occurred in 1984, was raised, forcing several families to flee their homes.

But as the day wore on, people realised that a major disaster had been averted.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National