Alerted over the fire incident which took place at Kumardubi in Bahragora recently killing at least nine people including, three women, a committee has been formed by Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar which will visit the cracker shops to verify the safety measures being taken by them or not. The fire broke out in the cracker factory which was being run illegally inside a three storied building at Kumardubi village under Bahragora Block of East Singhbhum on Monday.
“A committee has been formed headed by SDO Satyajeet Kumar which will visit all the shops physically to verify whether safety arrangements, being claimed by them, were taken by them or not,” said the DC. The committee was formed after an inspection was done following which notices were served to them that why their shops should not be closed down on the apprehension that they might pose a threat on the safety in the area, he added.
“They claimed that adequate safety measures were being taken by them including use of refractory materials in spite of ply wood or wood in making furniture and also have done concealed wiring in their shops,” said the DC. The committee will visit whether the claims made by them were actually being practiced by them or not, he added.
Meanwhile, the DC said, some of the godowns earlier located in the thickly populated areas, are voluntarily being shifted to outskirts which will further reduce any chances of any untoward incident.
The SDO, however, said that he will start visiting cracker shops after Durga Puja along with his team to check the safety measures taken by them.
“If they will not be found abiding by the standard guidelines, action will be taken against them immediately and their shops will be closed down,” said the SDO.
The Fire Services Department, on the other hand, has already advised the District Administration to allow sale of crackers only in open spaces like Morhabadi or Dhurwa Ground to avert any untoward incident.
“It has already been advised to identify some open spaces for cracker market on the lines of Dhanbad where cracker shops are allowed only on specified areas identified by the district administration but no initiative has been taken so far in this regard, posing a threat to the people in Ranchi,” said Stat Fire Officer RK Thakur.