The blast in a fire cracker unit at Warangal in Telangana last week that left 12 workers dead has once again brought to the fore the dangers pertaining to these units, especially the illegal ones, where even an iota of safety norm is not followed. The incident has tipped the district police to revisit the potent areas to close the illegal ones and take action against the erring manufacturers.
In Visakhapatnam district, places such as Devarapalli, Anakapalle (rural and urban), Chodavaram, Butchayyapaeta, Kasimkota, Gokulapadu and Narsipatnam, are notorious for such illegal units, and in the past there have been a number of tragic incidents.
In 2016, in Gokulapadu village of Visakhapatnam district eight workers, including four women and two minor girls, died and four others were seriously injured in a blast at an illegal factory. In 2015, five workers died and three suffered severe burn injuries at an illegal unit in A-Kothapalli village in Devarapalli mandal under Chodavaram Police Circle in Visakhapatnam district.
Fly-by-night
In Anakapalle town, there are about seven to eight legal or licensed units, but in the surrounding areas such as Chodavaram, Butchayyapaeta, Kasimkota, Narsipatnam and Devarapalli, a number of illegal units surface overnight and close down after the season is over.
The demand for firecrackers begins with the onset of the wedding season and ends with New Year celebrations. It reaches its peak during Dasara and Deepavali.
To avoid detection, the units come up in small sheds or thatched houses tucked in the agricultural fields.
Both the storing of explosive material such as sulphur and phosphorus, and manufacturing takes place within the small confinement of the hut or shed. “This itself is dangerous and suicidal,” said Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma.
The material is purchased in bulk quantity from the grey market and stored in the huts. Technically speaking, the explosive material should not mix at the storage point. They should be segregated and stored separately, otherwise it becomes a potent hazard. The illegal manufacturers, who are fly-by-night operators, do not follow such norms and store them at one place in a confined area, said Seetharamiah, who owns a licensed cracker manufacturing unit in Anakapalle.
Deadly mix
But what is worrying the enforcement agencies is the recent mix of explosive material that the forensic experts have found from the blast sites. Apart from the traditional sulphur and phosphorus or charcoal powder, experts have found traces of potassium chlorate, a highly unstable material, mostly used by matchbox manufacturing industries.
According to Mr. Seetharamaiah, the illegal manufacturers smuggle it out of factories making matches or buy it from the grey market, as firecrackers mixed with potassium chlorate emit more sound and light, and such finished products are in high demand in the present day.
A senior officer from the City Police Bomb Disposal Squad, said potassium chlorate is at times used by insurgents world over to make IEDs (improvised explosive devices), and it becomes highly unstable when mixed with sulphur or phosphorus, and this should be checked. The government has already banned the illegal sale of this product, he said.
Meagre pay
Most of the workers who are roped in by the illegal manufacturers are unskilled and women and children from very poor families, who are ready to work for a meagre payment of ₹150 to ₹200 a day.
The basic safety norms of storing the material, keeping water and sand or chemical spray is not followed and most of the accidents occur due to wrong way of storing the material or at the time of mixing the ingredients, said CTF ACP I. Chittibabu.
Enforcement
Though Mr. Sharma ruled out the link between the illegal units and Maoists, he said that the illegality needs to be checked.
“There are two types of explosives — high grade and low grade. Maoists use high grade explosives such as RDX and Cordtex, while the firecracker manufacturers use low grade explosives such as sulphur and phosphorus. But manufacturers do not have the licence and do not follow the safety norms to cut corners,” he said.
The police have begun visiting all potential areas and based on previous track record are binding over the illegal manufacturers. “We have not only closed a few such units but also have bind over at least 15 people connected with the illegal trade,” said Mr. Sharma.
