Bhopal gas tragedy is known as the worst industrial disaster as one can still witness the repercussions of the tragedy. The disaster that killed at least 25,000 people and injured thousands more for a lifetime has many heart rendering stories hidden in the past.
One such story is of Lt Col Gurcharan Singh Khanuja (retired) who on the ill-fated night of December 2, 1984, helped rescue 10,000 lives, but, is now forced to live a life of darkness as he suffered total vision loss as a side effect of the rescue operation. Col Khanuja was the guest of honour at an event hosted by Rotary Club of Pune, Lokmanyanagar at Deccan Gymkhana on February 7.
Though he can’t see anymore, his memories of that tragic night in Bhopal remain vivid. Colonel Khanuja was the first man from the Army to reach the Union Carbide factory with a few jawans and just their hankies to protect them from the spewing venom. “It was the longest and the darkest night. It was 1:45am when I was woken up by the employees who had gathered near the Sanchi gate of our 3 EME Centre in Bairagarh, Bhopal. I took 13 vehicles including cars, army buses and ambulance to the factory. My job was to rescue the employees and bring them to the Military Hospital that was 13km away,” he said.
“While heading towards the hospital a pile of dead bodies greeted us, we could see women and children of the nearby slums dead due to the gas leak. There was also a huge loss of livestock and other animals. While continuing the rescue operation, I felt my eyes burning, I washed my eyes with water and continued the rescue operation,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“While heading towards the hospital a pile of dead bodies greeted us, we could see women and children of the nearby slums dead due to the gas leak. There was also a huge loss of livestock and other animals. While continuing the rescue operation, I felt my eyes burning, I washed my eyes with water and continued the rescue operation,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}As if the entire sequence is etched in his mind, he further said, “I worked for more than 12 hours that day, with a wet cloth covering my mouth and saved 10,000 people. My wife who was working in Kendriya Vidyalaya expressed disbelief when I walked into our house as she was worried about my health. It was only after two days, during a check up that I found out that due to this rescue operation, I suffered a severe disability of total loss of vision. However, that doesn’t stop me from going about in my life. I am now retired and living in Pune where I do volunteer work,” he added.