Many illegal fire- cracker making units in Jajpur district and its nearby areas are tinderboxes waiting to explode, but the authority is in deep slumber by not taking any steps to close down them. As a result, the lives and properties of many persons are in danger.
“In villages like Chandikhola, Balichandrapur, Chatia, Nalipur and Nanpur in the district and its nearby areas, about 70 cracker making units make crackers though they have not obtained proper licences under the Indian Explosive Act from the authority.
“About 400 families have been eking out their livelihoods by making crackers in many manufacturing units in the district and its nearby villages since time immemorial. They mint money during the festival seasons like Dussehra, Kali Puja, Dewali and in marriage seasons,”said Babaji Rout, a cracker maker of Nalipur.
Cracker makers endanger their lives and others by making the crackers in their small and dingy rooms. They rarely take proper precaution to prepare the crackers. They also heap the explosive objects in their houses carelessly and invite danger to their lives and properties.
Many fire- cracker makers in these villages are now buzzing with cracker making activities as the demands of crackers are flowing from the people in the festival season. Fire cracker manufacturers in the district and its nearby areas were mostly using the prohibited mixture of potassium chlorate and sulphur for dazzling fireworks displays, causing most of the recent mishaps, sources said.
These cracker making villages are known as Sivakasi of the State for manufacturing fireworks in huge quantity. Making fireworks is almost a way of life here. The inhabitants, mostly poor, make a quick buck by manufacturing fireworks during Diwali and sundry other functions.
Though manufacturing fireworks is household business here, the village has only a handful of licenced firework manufacturers. The rest have been manufacturing fireworks illegally for decades.
These cracker-makers work in factories, spread on around 12 square feet. Covered by tin-sheds or thatched houses, these factories employ at least 10 persons, including children.
Cracker makers want to earn enough money during festive and marriage season that would last the entire year. For them 'money' is worth risking their life. Hence, they often cross the limits," said a cracker maker of Balichandrapur.
Carelessness on the part of manufacturers is the second major reason behind accidents. “All these crackers are a mixture of chemicals. A slight variation in proportion could be dangerous," he said.
"They never hire labourers from outside. As a result, any accident often wipes out a family," he said. Members of the association said that a majority of mishaps take place at illegal factories.
Ashoka Rout (57) of Chandikhola village, a cracker maker, said, “Since the age of 12, I have been making crackers and I learnt the art of binding crackers from my father. Now my two sons are also making crackers.”
Notably, about 25 persons have died and 80 persons injured within six years in these villages. The property worth of lakhs of rupees has been gutted in many fire
accidents in the cracker making units.
When contacted, district Collector Ranjan Das told this paper that the authority will crack down on all the illegal cracker making units shortly.