In less than a month, a second accident occured in the cracker district of the country. Atleast three people were dead today after a fire broke out in a small cracker factory at Vembakottai village near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district.
The accident occurred when three people were making firecrackers in a small room behind the house. Officials said that the room was used as a bathroom and later turned into a small cracker manufacturing unit. It may be noted that as per the regulatory norms the working area should have at least four exits.
Officials added that the unit was operating without licence and it was owned by a person named Shanmugam and his son Chellapandian. The police said that both of them have escaped and are now in hiding. However, the three people killed were identified as Shanmugam, Kumar and Bhagyaraja.
The police also said that despite regular inspection of the 346 fire cracker in Virudhunagar district and cancellation of licences for around 50 units - for not following safety guidelines - the authorities are still not able to control such illegal units.
It may be noted that earlier this month a major fire broke out in Om Sakthi Fireworks at Mudhalipatti, Sivakasi on September 5, which killed 39 people. The factory was operating in spite of its licence having been licence cancellation.
The town accounts for over 75% of the country’s fire cracker industry, which has been the lifeline for people here for over 100 years now.
Sivakasi has seen many such fire accidents in the past -- reports say that in the last 12 years, 237 lives have been lost in 88 accidents -- and Wednesday’s accident was the worst in 90 years. But no one seems to be raising any questions on how these factories get licences and operate here.
Local industry representatives say that the increase in number of accidents is mainly due to illegal units, which do not follow any rules and do not fall under any regulatory body.
It is estimated that around 700 illegal units have come up in the last six years and they do not apply for licenses so as to not fall under any tax net.
