Special teams to monitor cracker units

THOOTHUKUDI: Explosions in cracker-manufacturing units have become commonplace in the district during the recent months. Thirteen persons have died in three incidents that occurred in different parts of the district from March to June this year, urging the government to crack the whip on the erring units.A major explosion at a cracker unit in Mukkani village, Srivaikuntam taluk on March 28 claimed six lives, while three persons were charred to death in an explosion at a cracker unit at Vijayaramapuram on April 28. Another four persons were killed when a blast occurred in another cracker unit atKulaikanatharpuram, Tiruchendur taluk on June 29 in the district.“Violations of safety norms and lethargic law enforcement by officials have always been the cause behind such explosions,” claimed A Kathir, Executive Director, Evidence, Madurai.According to him, the Labour Welfare Act, 1948 and Explosives Act, 1884, have clearly laid down the laws and rules regarding workers’ safety, technology, safety measures and labour welfare, but most of the cracker units are least bothered to adhere to these rules.“Pathways in the cracker units should be open, the work sheds should be floored with 3 mm thick fire-proof rubber sheets and only four persons must work in a shed, says the rule, but owners ignore it,” added Kathir. They are only interested in making profit and are least bothered about the precious lives of the workers. “Many of the poor workers, ignorant of explosives and its nature, work silently, fearing they would lose their jobs if they raise any safety issue. The Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, who is supposed to visit these cracker units once in three months to ensure safety of workers, mostly avoids doing so. The explosions are not incidents, rather they are factory murders,” Kathir further said and added that workers should be trained on production safety and given an awareness on the explosives they handle.CPI(M) district secretary K Kanagaraj, speaking on the issue, said that during these incidents, the owners usually abscond and appear after a few days when the issue has died down. “I hardly remember any action taken against them for such explosions and they easily escape from the arms of law. Strict law enforcement and tough action against the erring units, which violate the safety norms alone would save workers from the perils of these cracker units,” he said.Meanwhile, Thoothukudi District Collector R Selvaraj, who recently conducted a meeting to review the safety of cracker units, instructed the officials of the department concerned to constitute special teams to conduct surprise checks on cracker units, storage sheds and sales outlets.Further, he warned that stringent action would be taken against those units violating the norms and operating without licence.