KOCHI: The gory sight of the Puttingal temple fireworks display tragedy, that claimed the lives of 110 people and left around 500 people maimed refuses to fade from memory even after eight years. It was around 3.30 am on April 10, 2016, when the disaster happened. A spark fell on crackers kept in the storage room causing a massive explosion. As it dawned, the Puttingal temple ground at Paravur in Kollam district looked like a battlefield.
Sabarimala, Malanada, Thrissur, Puttingal and Neeleshwaram... Kerala has witnessed many horrifying fireworks display accidents, but the passion for pyrotechnics fails to die despite tragedies. Though there have been recommendations to shift to digital or electronic fireworks display which are safer, temple committees refuse to adopt change, in the name of tradition and rituals.
Eight years after the Puttingal tragedy, an explosion during a fireworks display at a temple at Neeleshwaram in Kasaragod left 150 people injured on October 29. It seems we have not learnt lessons from the Puttingal disaster. The recommendations of the judicial commission formed by the state and the expert committee formed by the Centre remain trapped in red tape. The state authorities turn a blind eye towards the violations at fireworks displays and fling caution to the wind under pressure from politicians.
Pyrotechnics display has always been a fascination for Keralites and the bright colours glittering in the sky painting the night in vibrant hues have been the main attraction of festivities. The organisers of temple and church festivals have been competing for decades to make the fireworks display more colourful. But there has been little initiative from the government to stop the mad race.
The letter written by Revenue Minister K Rajan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting to remove the stringent conditions imposed on fireworks display speaks volumes of our nonchalant approach towards human safety.
The new rules mandate that the magazine or the storage room should be located 200 m away from the display site. As per the Explosive Rules of 2008, the prescribed distance was 45 m. The rule says that a distance of 100 m should be maintained between the spectators and the display area. Minister Rajan said these two restrictions were unnecessary and illogical. He recommended reducing the distance between the fireworks display and the spectators to 50-70 metres.
The rule instructs that the assembling shed should at least be 100 m away from the display site. The minister also objected to the condition that the site should be constantly supervised and the persons employed should wear protective clothes, ear defenders, safety glasses and other protective devices.
It is the condition that the display site should be 250 m away from hospitals, nursing homes and schools that has irked the festival organisers. No festival venue, including Thrissur Pooram, has the space to maintain the distance.
Former Joint Chief Controller of Explosives of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) R Venugopal, who led the four-member experts’ panel appointed by the Union government to probe the reasons for the Puttingal tragedy, said the cause of the disaster was non-maintenance of safety distance. “There was no barricade to restrict the spectators. Use of large aerial shells, insufficient quantity of lift charge in aerial shells, the use of prohibited chemicals, unskilled people engaged in display of fireworks and lack of a mechanism for crowd control added to the tragedy,” he said.
“The recent accident at the Anjootambalam Veererkavu temple in Neeleshwaram bears a striking resemblance to the Puttingal tragedy. While the Neeleshwaram tragedy was less in magnitude, it still highlights the safety concerns in the handling of fireworks. It was the use of less dangerous fireworks materials that reduced casualties,” said Venugopal.
“To enhance fireworks display safety in Kerala, it is essential to implement a robust regulatory framework by PESO and district authorities with strict licensing norms and defined safety zones, coupled with comprehensive training programme for personnel and public awareness campaigns,” said Venugopal.
“We have strict rules and regulations in place to ensure safety at fireworks displays during festivals. But the authorities are forced to ignore the violations and grant permission due to political pressure. If the district collector refuses permission, the organisers will approach the court claiming that fireworks display is part of the tradition of the temple. The court may grant permission on conditions. But these regulations are thrown to the wind as two groups compete to establish their supremacy,” said rights activist V K Venkitachalam who had been crusading to ban fireworks display for decades.
Fests where fireworks display is held
(1) Nenmara Vallangi Vela: Palakkad (2) Uthralikavu Pooram: Thrissur (3) Thrissur Pooram (4) Kannenkavu: Malappuram (5) Ernakulathappan temple, Ernakulam (6) Kavassery Parakkatt Bhagavathi temple, Alathur: Palakkad. (7) Pavaratty Church: Thrissur (8) Ollur Forane Church: Thrissur
Recommendations of central panel on Puttingal tragedy
1. Application for grant of licence for fireworks display should be submitted three months prior to the event and the licens ing authority should take a decision one month prior to the event
2. An egress path for easy escape of the spectators in case of emergency should be provided and shown in the site plan submitted to the district magistrate
3. The applicant should submit an on-site emergency plan to the district magistrate. The district administration should prepare an off-site emergency plan before granting licence
4. The application should specify the quality and quantity of fireworks to be displayed at the site
5. Provision should be made for storing fireworks in a licensed magazine storehouse at the display site. The place of storage should have a minimun distance of 100 m from the edge of the display site
Major accidents involving fireworks in Kerala
Kollam, March 23, 1990: An explosion during a fireworks display claimed 33 lives at Malanada Poruvazhy Peruviruthy temple in Kollam
Thrissur: May 4, 2006: Seven persons were killed and 11 others sustained injuries in an explosion at a fireworks unit at Padukad
Maradu, July 17, 2009: Three persons died after a house in which 1,000 kg of crackers were stored at Maradu was gutted, leading to a major explosion
Palakkad, Feb 3, 2011: Eight persons died and four sustained grievous injuries after a fire triggered blasts in three cracker manufacturing units
Thrissur, December 27, 2011: Six persons died and six suffered injuries in an explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit at Gramala in Athani
Kollam, April 10, 2016: A massive explosion ripped through Puttingal Temple at Paravur in Kollam district killing 110 people and leaving 350 others injured. The explosion was triggered by a spark from the fireworks display that landed in the store room where crackers were stored
Tripunithura, 2024: Two persons were killed and 22 others injured — four of them critically — in a massive explosion at an illegal firecracker storage facility at Choorakkad near Tripunithura
Kasaragod, October 29, 2024: Around 100 people were injured, eight of them seriously, in a fireworks accident at a temple festival at Nileshwar in Kasaragod district
