more-in Sivakasi The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association has sought a high-level enquiry into the Wednesday’s fire accident at Erode that claimed the lives of three persons and injured five others. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, its general secretary K. Mariappan raised the doubt that the cause of the fire could be ‘illegally manufactured’ fireworks. Seeking a CB-CID probe into the accident, he said that facts about the manufacturers of the crackers, place of manufacturing, whether the site of the accident had licence for selling crackers should be brought out. “Otherwise, such accidents would bring disrepute to the licensed fireworks industry,” he said. He also recalled that the association had sought the intervention of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in preventing smuggling and sale of Chinese fireworks on a war footing. In a memorandum sent to the Prime Minister, the association president A. Asaithambi had said that Pop-pop (a throw down bomb), cold pyro (anars) and confetti (paper shooters) of Chinese origin, containing chemicals and composition prohibited in India, were available in various places in the country. These products were dangerous and could lead to accidents and environmental deterioration. These products are freely available in shops, general merchandise, stationery, toys ad balloon shops. “These lethal products are liked and patronised by children as they were cheaper,” he said. Besides, these products are on offer for sale in social media like Facebook and WhatsApp and e-commerce sites. The banned substances like Silver fulminate in pop pop, ammonium/pottasium perchlorate and nitro-cellulose in clod pyro and chlorates in confetti had caused many accidents in North India. The association said that these contraband could be easily identified as the packing would not have statutory marking mandated under Rule 15 (4) of the Explosives Rules, 2008. The boxes would not contain the name of the manufacturer, licence number, class, division, sub-division, authorised name, chemical composition, net weight, sound level, date of manufacture, MRP and precautions. “Some of the local traders were also trying to sell them by marking as “not fireworks” and with images of Lord Ganesh and Chhota Bheem and were also repacking them with their own labels without the details of the manufactures on them,” he said. The association wanted all government agencies like Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Central Board of Excise and Customs, all Chief Secretaries, district authorities, and police be sensitised to this issue so that no untoward accidents would happen anywhere in the country.

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