The hazardous nature of work in the fireworks industry, where the slightest neglect can lead to disaster, calls for strict monitoring of safety standards at every stage. Yet, the reality points to a wider culture of neglect
There is a grim familiarity to the series of blasts that ripped through a fireworks assembly unit in Thrissur, Kerala, where workers were preparing for Thrissur Pooram, a temple festival famed for its pyrotechnic display. The explosions have resulted in the death of 14 people and left several injured. The cause of the accident is being investigated — the state government has ordered a judicial inquiry, in addition to the magisterial probe ordered by the district collector. Yet, the frequency of accidents involving fireworks across the country in the past few years alone — including Sunday’s blast in a fireworks unit in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar and the explosion at a factory in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada in February — point not to a series of individual tragedies, but a deeper issue that demands scrutiny.
The last major accident involving fireworks in Kerala was in April 2016, when a pyrotechnic display at the Puttingal Devi temple in Kollam went awry, killing 111 people and injuring over 300. Besides the use of illegal fireworks and improper storage, a probe ordered at the time pointed to several administrative lapses, including insufficient oversight in granting licences for the use and display of fireworks. Afterwards, recommendations about licensing, use and storage were also put forward. A decade on, another major tragedy raises uncomfortable questions.
