List of fireworks accidents and incidents in Sivakasi

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Sivakasi is a town in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is known for its firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. The industries in Sivakasi employ over 250,000 people with an estimated turn over of ₹20 billion (US$270 million). The major issues in the fireworks industry in Sivakasi are child labour and frequent accidents.

Background[]

Making of firecrackers

The economy of Sivakasi is dependent on three major industries: firecrackers, matchbox manufacturing, and printing.[1] The town has 520 registered printing industries, 53 match factories, 32 chemical factories, seven soda factories, four flour mills and two rice and oil mills. The town is the nodal center for firecracker manufacturing at the national level. In 2011, the industry employed over 25,000 people and some of the private enterprises had an annual turnover of ₹5 billion (US$66 million). In 2011, the combined estimated turnover of the firecracker, matchbox making and printing industry in the town was around ₹20 billion (US$270 million). Approximately 70% of the firecrackers and matches produced in India are from Sivakasi. The hot and dry climate of the town is conducive to the firecracker and matchbox making industries. The raw materials for these industries were procured from Sattur earlier but were discontinued due to the high power and production cost. The source of raw materials is Kerala and Andaman. The paper for the printing industry is procured from various states.[2][3] The town is a major producer of diaries, contributing to 30% of the total diaries produced in India. Printing industry in the town was initially utilized for printing labels for the firecrackers and later evolved with modern machinery to grow as a printing hub. In 2012, all the industries suffered 15–20% production loss due to power shortage and escalating labor cost.[4]

The major issues in the fireworks industry in Sivakasi is child labour and frequent accidents. In a blast in 1991 in a factory, 39 people were killed and 65 others were injured.[5] In July 2009, more than 40 people were killed in a fire accident in a firecracker unit. The police traced out unregistered units and irregularities that led to the accident.[6] In a fire accident in August 2011, seven people were killed and five were seriously injured.[7] A similar fire accident and blast in a private unit in September 2012 killed 40 people and injured 38 others.[8] The common reasons cited for the accidents are inadequate training of workers and supervisors involved in different stages of production and marketing of firecracker items.[5] Other reasons are found to be overstocking of explosives, raw material and finished goods, and employment of workers in excess of the permitted strength.[9]

Fireworks incidents and explosions[]

  • Sri Krishna Fireworks – Namaskarithanpatti – 20.07.2009 [10]
  • Anil Fireworks - Keezha Tiruthangal - 28.07.2009 [10]
  • Classic Fireworks - Meenampatti – 03.08.2009 [10]
  • Om Sakthi Fire works – Mudhalaipatti – 05.09.2012 [11]
  • Meenakshi Fireworks - Kichanayakkanpatti – 15.05.2013 [12]
  • Chidambaram Fireworks – Vilampatty – 22.08.2013 [13]
  • Jonal Fireworks – Chokkalingapuram – 25.02.2016 [14]
  • Krishnasamy Fireworks – Maraneri – 09.06.2016 [15]
  • Whole Sale Shop - Raghavendra Agency – Sivakasi – 20.10.2016 [16][17]
  • Nagamalli Fireworks - Vetrilai Oorani - 11.03.2017 [18]
  • ARV fireworks – Ramuthevanpatti – 06.04.2018 [19]
  • SKS fireworks – Kakkivadanpatti – 06.04.2018 [19]
  • Factory belonging to Krishnasamy Industries - Kakkivadanpatti - 08.09.2018[20]

References[]

  1. ^ Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, p. 1
  2. ^ "About city". Sivakasi municipality. 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  3. ^ Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, pp. 12–13
  4. ^ "Sivakasi set to welcome 2013 with diaries". The Times of India. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Surprise inspections 'key to Sivakasi safety'". The Hindu. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Fire incident claims more than 40 lives". Zee News. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Toll in Sivakasi cracker unit fire rises to seven". The Hindu. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ^ "12 held for Sivakasi blast; State, Centre order probe". The Hindu. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. ^ "The licence was suspended only the day before". The Hindu. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Danger zone". www.frontline.in. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  11. ^ "52 charred to death in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi factory fire - Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Three dead, 19 injured in explosion at fireworks unit near Sivakasi - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Major explosion at cracker factory near Sivakasi". NDTV.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Explosion in fireworks unit damages 5 rooms; No causalities". India Today. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  15. ^ "two killed in explosion at fireworks factory - United News of India".
  16. ^ IANS (20 October 2016). "Eight killed in cracker explosions at Sivakasi in TN". Business Standard India. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Sivakasi Fire Accident - Times of India".
  18. ^ "5 workers killed in blast at fireworks unit near Sivakasi". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 11 March 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 June 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. ^ a b "Four killed in Sivakasi cracker unit accidents". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 7 April 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 June 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ Ganesh, Sanjana (8 September 2018). "Three dead, two injured in blast at fireworks unit near Sivakasi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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