Kerala - Kochi   

Norms violation suspected

KOCHI: Violation of the guidelines might have led to the accident that claimed two lives during the sample fireworks display at Maradu Kottarathil Bhagavathy temple on Monday, it is learnt.

Though the exact reasons for the accident will be known only after the ongoing inquiry, it seems that at least some conditions based on which the district administration had issued the No Objection Certificate (NOC) might have been violated, sources said.

Fort Kochi Revenue Divisional Officer M.K. Joseph, who is inquiring into the accident, is expected to present the report on Saturday.

As per the existing provisions, the organisers have to apply for the NOC for obtaining licence for the fireworks display from the Deputy Controller of Explosives. The District Collector issues the NOC based on the verification reports of the Fire and Rescue Department as well as the police and the revenue departments.

The Divisional Officer, Ernakulam Fire and Rescue Services, had permitted the organisers to use 70,000 crackers, 600 paper gundu, 150 colour amittu and 200 dynamites for the display. However, it is widely alleged that explosives in excess of the permitted limits were used.

The organisers were directed to fulfil at least eight safety guidelines. The most prominent among them was that the “spectators should be restricted beyond a safe distance of at least 200 metres from the display.”

It is certain that this provision had been violated at Maradu as people thronged the road near the Mangayil Government High School Ground where the dynamites were being ignited.

It is clearly stated that “items of fireworks display should not contain sulphur, potassium chlorate or any other chlorate.” It is also laid down that the fireworks should not produce sound exceeding 125-decibel level. Both these conditions were also clearly breached during the Maradu display.

Other conditions were — an authorised person should be engaged to conduct the display, the Fire and Rescue Service and police authorities should be informed of the exact time of display well in advance and it should be announced to the hawkers, vendors and dwellers in the vicinity, a standby Fire and Rescue Service force should be engaged at the place of display, the fireworks used for display should be kept in a temporary shed specially made with asbestos or tin sheet at least 299 m away from the place of display under the strict supervision of authorised persons and no electrical wire should be allowed within 10 m of the area where fireworks items are stored as also where the display takes place.

Many of these conditions were violated, a top official said. “Besides, the remorseless behaviour exhibited by some of the people involved was nauseating. For them the loss of two lives was of little significance, as they insisted on continuing with the fireworks,” he said.

The decades-old firework display had claimed three lives in the past, two in 1975 and one in 1981.

Meanwhile, the district administration defused half of the remaining explosives at a paddy field near the HMT on Wednesday evening. The rest would be defused on Thursday. The explosives were transported to the area in ten specially designed vans.

All the trenches that were used for defusing the explosives on Wednesday were damaged, said Additional District Magistrate A.K. Thankappan.

A.M. Yusuf, MLA, said people, including women, had gathered in large numbers to see the explosives being defused.

The police said action on the case registered in connection with the accident would be initiated only after defusing the remaining explosives.

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