Special Teams Step Up Checks On Firecracker Units

Visakhapatnam : Special teams comprising police, fire services and revenue officials have intensified raids on firecracker manufacturing units and storage points across north coastal Andhra Pradesh following the Vetlapalem cracker blast incident that claimed 21 lives on Saturday.

Raids are being conducted in Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Parvathipuram Manyam districts.

Anakapalli has the highest number of firecracker manufacturing units, with 32 units in operation. Of these, about half are located in Anakapalli town, nine in Chodavaram and the rest scattered across Anakapalli rural areas, Narsipatnam and Devarapalli.

Anakapalli deputy superintendent of police K Sravani said some units are operating with stay orders obtained from the High Court.

“We have asked the collector to close one manufacturing unit after we found that storage exceeded 150 kg against the permitted limit of 15 kg,” Sravani said.

Anakapalli is known for manufacturing good-quality firecrackers, which are in high demand in Visakhapatnam city. Apart from Diwali, crackers are used during Ganesh nimajjanam, Dasara, marriages and political rallies.

“We cannot call them factories, as families operate these units from their homes for livelihood. Nevertheless, we are conducting thorough checks to prevent loss of life,” another police officer said.

A retired fire official said illegal manufacturers procure raw materials from open-market shops without proper verification by sellers. In some cases, materials are purchased from licensed holders and resold for marginal profits.

“They are manufactured in makeshift sheds, thatched houses, isolated locations, agricultural fields and interior villages, with workers paid low wages. There is hardly any monitoring,” he said.

Vizianagaram superintendent of police A Damodar said checks were conducted twice recently and all eight manufacturing units were found adhering to safety norms.

Deputy superintendent of police, Srikakulam district, Ch Vivekanand said the district has five explosive units operating under central licences for manufacturing gelatine sticks used in granite mining and 11 licensed firecracker units.

“So far, we have not found any unlicensed cracker unit in the district. However, teams are conducting extensive searches to unearth illegal units,” he said.

He recalled that 14 people were killed in a firecracker unit blast in the district in 2005.