GHAZIABAD: A day after five persons were killed in an explosion in a fireworks factory in Farukh Nagar area, the authorities have sealed close to 60 such units operating in the area.Speaking to TOI, sub-divisional magistrate, Loni, Premranjan Singh said that none of the factories sealed on Saturday were producing crackers for the past few months except the one where the explosion took place on Friday. However, since the factories have been sealed, they won't be able to get involved in illegal production, even if they intended to, he said. "We have been talking to the villagers since morning. Some of them confirmed that none of these factories were operational except Pappu Thekedar's that blew up yesterday. We have brought officials from the pollution department to use their authority and seal all of them. We are just coordinating with them," said Singh.Many parts of Loni area have fireworks factories that will also be sealed in the next two days, the SDM said.He also indicated that Pappu Thekedar's factory might have been involved in production of crackers behind closed doors. "It is stated that he came here to clean his factory on Friday along with the other victims. However, it is difficult to believe that an explosion of this nature can occur just after lighting a beedi or a cigarette," he said.A compensation of Rs 30,000 each for family members of four deceased excluding Pappu Thekedar alias Rashid Ali under the state government's Paarivarik Laabh Yojana has been approved by district magistrate Ministhy S, he said."When an economically weaker family loses a senior earning member, under the UP government's relief scheme, they are provided a benefit of Rs 30,000. Since Pappu Thekedar was a rich man, only the families of Ashfaque, Sagir, Rafique and Qutubuddin will be eligible for this amount," said a senior police officer.

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