Diwali firecracker mishaps: Accountability, robust legal framework are a must
The Tribune Editorial: The new law must prioritise the safety of all stakeholders — consumers, vendors, stockists, industrial workers, etc.
LIKE every year, Diwali fireworks have triggered mishaps across the country during the past week. Four persons were killed in Chennai when country-made firecrackers stored illegally in a house went off. The residential premises doubled as a shop selling fireworks — illicitly, of course. A new menace — carbide gun — landed more than 100 people, most of them children, in hospital in Madhya Pradesh. This crude gun is made with a gas lighter, a plastic pipe and calcium carbide. During a meeting ahead of Diwali, the MP government had directed district magistrates and police officers to ensure that carbide guns were not sold. However, their manufacture and sale continued, overtly or covertly. It is regrettable that the authorities failed to do the needful despite being well aware of the problem. Such lapses are not confined to one state; they have become par for the course nationwide in the festival season.
