Once shunned, areas near Bhopal gas tragedy site now seeing real estate boom

Bhopal, Dec 1 Union Carbide factory, the site of the deadly gas leak 40 years ago which was once located on Bhopal's outskirts, is no longer ostracised with its neighbourhood now dotted with residential and commercial establishments. Once shunned, areas near Bhopal gas tragedy site now seeing real estate boom A prominent shopping mall-cum-entertainment centre is now located just 4 km away and hundreds of residential colonies have cropped up on the then vacant land near the disaster site, overlooking pollution that the tragedy created - be it groundwater or soil contamination. Since the tragedy, the city has seen a significant population growth and urban development, including in areas surrounding the Union Carbide plant campus, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India Bhopal unit chief Manoj Singh Meek said. "The area in the vicinity of Union Carbide, located in northern part of the city, must have added around 100 residential colonies and a population of three lakh during the past four decades," he said. "The compensation disbursed in the years after the tragedy gave a boost to the local economy, resulting in small-ticket size illegal real estate development in surrounding areas," he said.