- Fireworks facility found with excess explosives for festival.
- Revenue department search prompted by recent fatal blast.
- Case registered against licence holder for violating limits.
- Festival organisers allege targeting, demand case withdrawal.
Palakkad (Kerala), Apr 23 (PTI) The Revenue Department has conducted search at a fireworks manufacturing facility operating for the famous Thrissur Pooram festival and found explosives stocked beyond the permitted quantity at Muthalamada here, police said on Thursday.
Following the fireworks blast at a unit in Thrissur that killed 14 persons recently, the search was initiated.
Acting on the directions of the Chittur Tahsildar, Kollengode police registered a case against the licence holder of the unit, identified as Binoy Jacob, who had secured the fireworks contract for Paramekavu Devaswom as part of the festival.
According to the FIR, the Tahsildar and revenue officials carried out an inspection at the unit on Tuesday.
Upon finding explosives and fireworks stored in excess of the licensed limit, the Tahsildar issued a stop memo and filed a report with the police, based on which the case was registered, the FIR said.
Police officials said the case has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Indian Explosives Act on Wednesday night.
The development comes in the wake of a powerful explosion on Tuesday afternoon at a fireworks unit preparing crackers for Thiruvambady Devaswom ahead of the upcoming festival on April 26.
Firecrackers were being manufactured in multiple temporary sheds located in an isolated area amid paddy fields, where around 40 people were suspected to have been present at the time of the blast.
Thrissur Pooram is scheduled to be held on April 26.
Paramekavu Devaswom Secretary G Rajesh on Thursday alleged that the case registered against a fireworks licence holder has raised suspicions that the Thrissur Pooram is being targeted by certain vested interests.
“There is pressure from some quarters against organising the Pooram. We cannot understand such sentiments,” he told reporters.
Rajesh said the meetings of the festival committee and the managing committee, held on Wednesday, unanimously decided to proceed with the festival in full vigour.
“We can make some changes to it. But for temple devotees, cancelling the entire Pooram is unacceptable,” Rajesh added.
He also demanded that the case registered against the licensee be withdrawn.
“We believe there is some presumption behind the registration of the case and the seizure of fireworks,” he said.
Stating that people want the celebrations to be held in their full traditional form, Rajesh said Thrissur has a long-standing legacy associated with the festival.
He said around 6,000 kg of explosives and fireworks are required for the Pooram celebrations, with some additional quantity kept as reserve.
“Fireworks are part of the tradition. We have suggested that the sample fireworks display can be cancelled, but other traditions should be followed,” he added. PTI TBA TBA SA
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
