14 Blind, 122+ Injured by Carbide Guns in MP

More than 122 children across Madhya Pradesh have been hospitalized with severe eye injuries from homemade “carbide guns,” and at least 14 have been left permanently blind. The crude devices—made from plastic or tin pipes filled with calcium carbide, gunpowder and match heads—detonate, sending burning gas and shrapnel into victims' faces and eyes and causing ruptured eyeballs, corneal burns and intraocular foreign bodies. Hospitals in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior are overwhelmed (Hamidia Hospital admitted 26 children in 72 hours), and many children are being treated in intensive care. Despite a government ban issued on October 18, the guns have been openly sold in Vidisha markets for about Rs 150–200 and promoted on social media, prompting police to arrest several sellers and authorities to order crackdowns. Doctors warn these improvised explosives are likely to cause irreversible blindness and urge parents to keep children away from them.