VIRUDHUNAGAR: Following the recent explosions at cracker units in the districts, Collector VP Jeyaseelan said that highly untrained staff are one of the reasons for the frequent explosions. The collector instructed all cracker units’ foremen and supervisors in the district to complete one-week skill training programmes, conducted by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, within three months. He further warned of strict action against the units in case of non-compliance, and said that their licences will be revoked if they manufacture firecrackers with foremen and supervisors who have not completed the safety directorate’s skill training programme.
According to official sources, based on a government order, foremen, supervisors, and employees working at firecracker units in the district are given one month of training on operational safety at the factories to avoid any untoward incidents. “In a committee meeting held on January 29 at the collectorate, owners of crackers unit stated that the work in factories is affected if employees are sent for training, following which the district collector insisted on providing a full-time training for one week,” sources said, adding that the training started from February 12 as a full-time session for a week.
In the first phase of training, foremen, and supervisors from 35 cracker units will be trained, and information regarding the dates of training will be sent to those units in advance.
“The training will be given free of cost if the foremen and supervisors of the concerned cracker units attend it following the first letter sent to the unit by the district administration. If they fail to do so, the factories would be sent a second letter and Rs 5000 fine would be levied on such second training. In case they fail to attend the second session as well, a third letter would be sent to the factories and Rs 10,000 fine would be levied. If the concerned cracker foreman and supervisors don’t attend the training even after the fourth letter, the unit’s license will be revoked,” sources added.