Firecracker unit blast a wake-up call
The explosion at a firecracker unit at Muttinakam, near Kochi, which left one person dead and seven injured on Tuesday, showed that the authorities and the people had learnt nothing from such past incidents. The fireworks accident at a temple in Puttingal, Kollam, in 2016, which killed 112 people, continues to haunt Kerala. Coming to the latest incident, it has now emerged that the unit had no licence to manufacture firecrackers, and its licence to sell firecrackers in Ernakulam expired last year. It was operating using the licence issued to manufacture in Palakkad. The explosion was so massive that it was felt up to 5 km around the area and damaged ten houses. What has surprised many is that the firecracker unit was functioning in a densely populated residential area. Most people living there were unaware that vast quantities of explosives were being stored in their locality.
Kerala’s love for fireworks is well known, and no festival is complete without the sound and colours of the fireballs that light up the night sky. While fireworks add colour and pomp to festivals, what’s obvious is that the rules regarding the storage and use of explosives are often ignored, exposing people’s lives to recurring accidents. And January to March is the peak festival season in Kerala. Though no official statistics are available, various reports indicate that at least 400 people have lost their lives in Kerala in firecracker-related accidents since 2006.
People in the industry say manufacturers usually store chemicals in far greater quantities than required. And a nexus involving the owners and various departments of the government, including the police, are at work. Police swing into action when an accident occurs, and everything is soon forgotten till the next big tragedy. While it’s shocking how a fireworks-making unit was allowed to function in a busy area, the fact is that there are many locations across the state where explosives are stored without adequate safeguards. With Kerala reporting unusually high temperatures since mid-February and the weathermen forecasting a scorching summer, any stock of explosives is a potential tragedy in the making. The blast should serve as a wake-up call, and the authorities must stamp down on the illegalities involved in producing and storing fireworks. It’s high time the government departments, including police and local bodies, heightened vigil against the danger lurking under their nose.