KRISHNAGIRI: Five people, including a DRO, were injured when fire broke out in a cracker manufacturing unit at Kamayur on Tuesday. The incident took place around 11.45 am when a team led by DRO Balaji, tahsildar Muthupandi and Denkanikottai deputy tahsildar Raja Kannu were inspecting the unit. Apart from the officers, Seeman, a worker, and Jagadisan, a driver escaped with minor injuries.
The injured officials were taken to local government hospitals. DRO Balaji was later shifted to a private hospital in Bengaluru. Following the incident, Hosur sub-collector R Saranya and Krishnagiri SP Saroj Kumar Thakur visited the spot. The manufacturing unit has licence to operate till May 2025, sources said.
After the recent explosion in Palayapettai, which claimed nine lives, special teams are inspecting cracker shops and godowns in the district. “The manufacturing unit has been operating for the past four years but manufacturing stopped in November because of a health issue to managing director Shabu Purushothamman. The unit is operating in a four-acre land under lease for ten years,” sources told TNIE.
When officials visited the unit, they found one of the rooms locked. They broke open the lock with a hammer and then moved on to another room where raw material was stored. When they returned to the first room, fire broke out even as Seeman explained to them about the stock. Sub-collector R Saranya said, “Revenue officials are taking statements of those injured and a forensic team has collected samples. The cause of fire will be known after inquiry”