Firework accident deaths: TN govt takes measures to ensure safety

Chennai, Jan 20 ( IANS) Tamil Nadu government has come up with strong measures to ensure safety in firework factories in Sivakasi and other areas of the state.

This comes after three persons died on Thursday in two separate fire mishaps in Sivakasi, in which more than 11 people were also critically injured.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has already announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh for the families of the dead and an amount of Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The Chief Minister's office has directed the Virudhunagar district collector and district superintendent of police to ensure that the fire units work properly and that mishaps donot take place.

Sources in the Virudhunagar district administration told IANS that there will be a thorough investigation by the district authorities in each of the more than 3,000 firework units in the district.

It may be noted that Sivakasi, which falls in Virudhunagar district, is the firework capital of India with most of the fireworks across the country being transported from this small town.

It's to be noted that the Sivakasi fireworks industry has an annual turnover of Rs 6000 crore and the government is keen that with such a huge revenue, the industry must be able to ensure security aspects at a higher level thus preventing any further explosions while mixing during making the firecrackers.

L.R. Subramanian, owner of a fireworks unit in Sivakasi while speaking to IANS said, "The recent accidents are really tragic and unfortunate. Of course, sometimes people are a bit careless leading to such major fire accidents. Monthly monitoring by the district fire and safety department is important to ensure that all security parameters are maintained in the firework units."

Sources in the Virudhunagar district administration told IANS that the government does not want any further such accidents and to ensure that the huge money-spinning industry is secure and safe.

Source: IANS