Start bar coding of detonators; Home Ministry tells DIPP

In a communication to DIPP, the Home Ministry expressed concern over easy availability of detonators, especially among industries related to mining, and asked it to regulate its supply.

"We have asked the DIPP to start bar coding of detonators so that we can find out the origin of all detonators if someone uses them for triggering explosions," a Home Ministry official said.

So far, there is no mechanism to find out from where a detonator was sourced, where it was manufactured and who was its buyer.

"If bar coding is done, it would be very easy to keep a track of these devices. That is why we have taken the matter very seriously and asked the DIPP to deal with it on an urgent basis," he said.

Earlier, the DIPP had started bar coding of the packets of ammonium nitrate which is also frequently used by terrorists to carry out blasts.

However, the exercise has not been fruitful as the bar coding could be done only on the packets of ammonium nitrate which is powdery substance and also used as fertiliser.