Opinion - Editorials   

Behind the Madurai tragedy

Accidents are, almost by definition, preventable. Strict adherence to and tough enforcement of well-conceived rules and regulations can go a long way in prevention. But what the explosion in a fire cracker unit near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, which claimed 18 lives, including those of three child labourers, made tragically clear is that while many of those who operate hazardous factories fail to comply with the statutory requirements, enforcement authorities neglect their supe rvisory and preventive role. Although the circumstances of the explosion are still not very clear, preliminary investigation has revealed a shocking non-adherence to the basic precautions and safety measures mandated for such units. Section 13 of the Tamil Nadu Fire Service Act, 1985 requires the owners or occupiers of premises used for any purpose likely to cause a risk of fire to take specified precautions. It also empowers the fire service officers to direct the removal of objects and goods from areas considered unsafe. But nothing seems to have been done in this case.

Units involved in the manufacture, handling, and storage of explosive materials cannot afford the smallest of mistakes. The V.B.M. Fireworks cracker unit was originally issued a licence in 1963; and at the time the explosion occurred, it had a licence to operate till 2011. Although fireworks industries are allowed to function only from sunrise to sunset, work in this unit was going on well after sundown. The unit did not have the mandatory two-metre high fencing, and authorities are now investigating whether the mixing, filling, and stacking of explosives was done in accordance with the law. It functioned close to a school, testing the stipulation on the minimum distance between firework industries and dwelling houses or schools. To escape the provisions of the notoriously permissive Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, which defines a child as a human being under 14 years of age, this fireworks manufacturer employed 14-year-old and 15-year-old children. But the unit fell foul of the Explosives Act, 1884, which prohibits the manufacture, possession, sale or transport of explosives, including fireworks, by any one below 18 years of age. Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (to which India is a party) recognises “the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” The fact that three of those killed and seven of those injured were below 18 years of age, and that four of the injured were under 16, is a shocking indictment of rising India’s permissive attitude towards the exploitation of children — with scant regard for their safety and wellbeing.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Behind the Madurai tragedy
A critically important area
To translate promises into action
Migrants: home not so sweet home
Are big pharma companies delaying cheaper drugs?
EU seized record number of fake goods in 2008
Corrections and clarifications
Pakistan’s admission
Revealing interview
Union budget
The faith to cope with conflicts

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu