Bhopal, Oct 23 What should have been a night of lights and joy turned into a nightmare for families across Bhopal and surrounding districts this Diwali, as makeshift "carbide guns" – marketed as cheap festive toys – caused severe injuries to more than 125 people, including children and the elderly.
According to doctors, the number may be higher, around 200.
Nearly 20 cases were reported from Gwalior, Indore (four), Sagar (three), and Bhopal (36).
Most cases have come up in clinics or private hospitals.
Patients are not only from Bhopal but also from Seoni Malwa, Hoshangabad, Sehore, and Narsinghpur, overwhelming eye wards. Hospitals reported a surge in cases, with over 70 per cent involving corneal damage, leading to permanent vision loss for several victims.
The devices, priced around Rs 200 and made from plastic pipes, gas lighters, and calcium carbide, explode violently upon ignition, hurling shrapnel-like fragments into eyes, faces, and bodies.
At Hamidia Hospital, one of Bhopal's largest government facilities, doctors treated around 40 patients on Diwali night alone.
Kavita Kumar, Head of the Ophthalmology Department, described the carbide gun as a "deadly explosive" rather than a toy, as it produces acetylene gas, which ignites with a spark through an "ignitor".
"The blast scatters plastic shards like pellets, causing deep corneal ulcers and burns," she explained.
According to a private hospital doctor, in emergency cases, a corneal transplant is required with urgent tissue replacement, which is a costly procedure, and recovery could take months.
So far, across Madhya Pradesh, over 125 children were hospitalised with similar injuries, and at least 14 have lost their eyesight permanently, according to reports citing state health officials.
Bhopal Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Manish Sharma confirmed over 60 hospitalisations in the city, primarily children aged 8-14, with more than 150 injury reports the day after Diwali – many of whom were discharged after first aid.
Despite Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's October 18 directive to district authorities to ban the sales of carbide guns, the devices were rampant in markets, fuelled by social media trends glamourising them as Diwali stunts.
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