KOOTTANAD: For MV Vasudevan, 54, a resident of Kumaranellur in Palakkad district, life in recent months revolved around a single goal – completing the construction of his house. A daily-wage labourer who had long depended on grass-cutting work, his income dwindled with the onset of summer, when such jobs become scarce.
In search of a steady earning, Vasudevan turned to a more dangerous option. Around 20 days ago, he joined a few of his maternal relatives at the firecracker-manufacturing unit in Mundathicode in Thrissur, where he was paid around Rs 1,000 a day along with a meal. His work would start at 8am and end by 2pm. On Tuesday, he stayed back for some more time, possibly for an extra income (there was additional work for the sample fireworks), and that decision proved fatal. Vasudevan lost his life in the explosion at the unit – one of the first victims to be identified.
By midnight, his body was brought back to his unfinished home, the very dream he had been striving to complete. He was cremated on Wednesday morning in the presence of a large number of grieving residents. He left behind an aged mother, wife and two children.
“He had no experience in firecracker-making. With no work available, he chose this risky job,” said his relative Kunhukuttan T M, a former president of Chalissery panchayat in Palakkad. According to Kunhukuttan, Vasudevan’s maternal relatives had a history of working in firework units, especially in the years before stricter safety protocols came into force.
M N Sukumaran, 58, a resident of Kottekkad in Palakkad and a former fireworks unit worker, said a majority of helpers in such units are unskilled.
Those within the trade acknowledge that risk is inseparable from the craft. A seasoned firework professional from Thrissur put it starkly: “In fireworks, there is nothing called ‘less risky’. It is either a spectacle in the sky or a catastrophe on the ground.”