Explosion of joy can be risky

KOCHI/PARAVOOR: Fire cracker sale in the city can get perilous this Vishu season as there is a lapse in the verification of safety arrangements made in the firecracker shops. According to the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), who is the licensing authority of the firecracker shops in the city, thorough verification is done only when new applications are received.“While granting a new licence, the Fire and Rescue Services, Village Officer and Tahsildar need to verify the safety arrangements in the shops. In case of licence renewal, it is the duty of the area police to verify whether the shops are in the mentioned location, whether the shop owner has stuck to the quantity of stock and other aspects mentioned in their licence. Though the Explosives Rules-2008 state that licence needs to be renewed once in five years, we follow a yearly system of renewal in Kochi,” said Additional District Magistrate E K Sujatha.“The District Administration has not granted any new licences this year. All the applications received are those for renewing the licence of existing firecracker shops,” she added.However, sources with the Police Department stated that while going for verification, the police officials mainly focus on whether the shop is in the said location.“We can only verify whether there are any obvious discrepancies in the details given in the application and the ground reality. Even then, we cannot verify the exact quantity of stock kept in the shop as it is not practical to personally check the weight of the entire quantity stored in a shop,” said a police official.Meanwhile, the officials with the Fire and Rescue Services Department said the Additional District Magistrate had not instructed them to check the safety measures being taken by the shops though the practice is followed in other cities.