Close on the heels of accidents at firecracker godowns at Sivakasi and Coimbatore, authorities on Saturday reviewed safety measures being enforced at shops and godowns.
Collector K.S. Palanisamy convened a meeting with senior officials of Police, Revenue and Fire and Rescue Services to discuss safety protocol. The police have already convened a meeting with dealers of fire crackers on Friday.
At the meeting, Mr. Palanisamy said nobody should be allowed to manufacture or sell fire crackers without a valid licence. Crackers should be sold only at places for which permission was given. Only permitted firecrackers should be displayed at shops. Inflammable materials should not be used in the shop structures.
The shops should be located only on ground floor with easy access for fire tenders. Adequate safety and fire fighting devices and equipment such as water and sand buckets should be kept in readiness. Electric wiring should be covered.
Cracker dealers should not sell products banned in India. The dealers should strictly conform to the safety protocol. Violations would attract severe action, Mr. Palanisamy said. Superintendent of Police T. Senthil Kumar, District Revenue Officer K.Tharpagaraj, Assistant District Fire Officer T.Pandi and other officials attended the meeting.
