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10 An Unsung Hero

Warm Up

● Have you seen or read about an accident or a disaster?
Could it have been prevented? How?

Reading skills

On the night of December 2, 1984 when the residents of Bhopal were
fast asleep, more than 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas started

to leak from the factory of Union Carbide (India) Limited. A cloud of
gas gradually started enveloping the city.

And soon, all hell broke loose. The city of hills and lakes turned into a

colossal gas chamber. Bhopal was witnessing the worst ever industrial
disaster. More than 600,000 people were exposed to the deadly gas
cloud. It took an immediate toll of 3000 lives and left several thousands

physically impaired for life.

Few people know that during the Bhopal tragedy, many brave hearts risked their own lives
to save others. One such unsung hero is Ghulam Dastagir.

On the fateful night of December 2, around 1 am, Deputy Station Superintendent, Ghulam
Dastagir was finishing his usual chores that made him stay in office for a longer time.

Unaware of what was going on when he stepped out of his office on platform number 1, he
felt something unusual in the air outside. He could feel a burning sensation in his eyes. He
felt choked and his throat hurt badly.

Dastagir found some commotion at the entrance of the station.

Suspecting that something was seriously wrong, Dastagir rushed to the office of his boss,

Harsh Dhurve. His worst fears came true when he learnt that Harish Dhurve had already
died. It was later reported that Dhurve heard about the deadly gas leak and had immediately
tried stopping the movement of trains passing through Bhopal before collapsing in his office

chamber. Twenty three of his colleagues had also met the same fate.

103 Arrow - English Plus-8