The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the District Collector of Jagatsinghpur directing him to submit an action taken report (ATR) within four weeks pertaining to safety and security of children who were injured in a cylinder blast during the Kalinga Bali Yatra at Paradip. Acting on a petition by Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC passed the order recently.
The petitioner brought to the notice of the NHRC in his complaint that at least 12 persons, including four minor boys, sustained grievous injuries on November 9 last when a gas cylinder used to inflate balloons exploded in Kalinga Bali Yatra festival at Paradip. Thousands of people were in the fair ground when the cylinder went off at about 11.50 pm. The impact of the mishap was so severe that the palm of Pintu Swain (12) of Mangrajpur under Kujanga police station limits got severed. Other minor victims have been identified as Adarsh Choudhury, Saur Samal and Babula Malick.
The petitioner said that in the present case proper vigil was not kept by the authorities on the use of cylinders by balloon sellers. He sought the intervention of the NHRC to investigate all the cases in which children were injured at fair or a celebration venue in the State and urged to direct the State to provide safety measures, appropriate medical care and compensation to the injured ones besides penalty against the erring officials.