TIRUNELVELI: A pall of gloom descended on Mela Devanallur, a small hamlet near Kalakkad, on Monday after an accident in a cracker shop claimed seven lives, including that of a three-year old girl and her father, on Deepavali eve.

The festive spirit vanished instantly as the villagers continuously heard deafening noise and saw streaks of flames around the shop, a little away from the village.

There was an eerie silence after they came to know that seven people had died.

Though residents of Mela Devanallur believe that business rivalry could have been the reason behind the tragedy, police categorically maintain that it was just an accident "which was triggered by the heat generated within the crackers piled in large quantity." The mishap occurred when the victims were about to load a huge quantity of crackers prepared for the employees of a Tuticorin-based industrial house.

Popular

As these crackers, sans colour papers and packing, are so cheap, they are popular in the rural areas.

It is the third accident in this 40-year-old shop at Devanallur.

Twenty years ago, five people were killed on the spot and five years ago, five cows perished.

"But owners of this unit have not learnt anything from their past bitter experiences. Had they strictly followed the norms, they could have easily avoided loss of life.

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