2016 fireworks mishap at temple: Probe panel blames cops, govt

The Justice P S Gopinathan Commission, which probed into the 2016 mishap involving fireworks at a temple in Kollam district, has found lapses on the part of the police and the district administration in causing the tragedy which left over 100 dead.

In one of the worst temple tragedies in Kerala, as many as 110 people died and more than 300 injured during an explosion as an unauthorised display of fireworks display was going on at the Puttingal temple precincts in the early hours of April 10, 2016.

"What happened that day was the eventual denouncement of a criminal and unconscionable disregard for law and public safety that had fossilised over the years; for which responsibility rests equally on the shoulders of the organising committee, the fireworks contractors, as well as on all the authorities involved," said the judicial panel in its report submitted to the government in July this year.

"The mishap was a tragedy waiting to happen- one that was in the making over the past so many years - right under the watch of the keepers of the law," said the panel.

Had the district Collector and the additional district magistrate "conveyed their refusal to permit" the display of fireworks "in clear and unambiguous terms", the display would not have occurred, it said.

"A detailed inquiry into the tragedy at Puttingal has revealed that it was the result of coming together of a lot of diverse causative factors, including the adamant stance of the temple committee to have a massive fireworks display without ensuring minimum safety standards, negligence of the fireworks contractors, lapses on the party of the police, district administration, fire and rescue services and the pollution control board in complying with the relevant rules and procedures," said the report a copy of which was accessed by the media.

According to the Commission, the display was carried out in an extremely negligent manner by the festival organisers and the firework display contractors.

The slack regulation of the conduct of the display by the district administration and other agencies compounded the dangerousness of the display, the panel said.

The Commission said examination of past practices revealed that over the years, the licensing authority had been issuing licence in a lax manner without ensuring strict compliance with the rules and procedures.

"Many a time the licence was seen issued ex-post facto, effectively diluting its importance," it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had visited the scene of the tragedy.