All illegal firecracker factories in the state should stop operating: that’s the message given by the director general (DG) and additional director general (ADG), law and order, to senior police officers in West Bengal at a meeting on Tuesday.
Sources say the administration’s message is that crackdowns must continue against such setups in all parts of the state.
All superintendents and commissioners of police have been asked to give reports on illegal firecracker factories in their areas by May 29. How many such plants are there, who are running them, how many people work there, etc, have to be detailed in the reports.
According to officials, in police action between May 17 and 22, a total of 152 cases have been lodged with 143 arrests, while 1,14,232 kg, 2,473 packets, and 18,691 pieces of firecrackers have been seized, apart from 27,635 kg of raw material.
Officers have also been instructed that if something goes wrong and the crisis escalates, senior officials must be kept in the loop.
The development comes after four blast incidents over the past week at such factories in West Bengal with at least 16 people losing their lives.
It has been alleged that the police were aware in most cases that these illegal units were operating. The matter was also raised in Tuesday’s meeting.
A large number of labourers work in these factories, which is also a big concern for the administration.
On Monday, the West Bengal cabinet decided to form a committee to look at whether or not cluster formation is possible for firecracker factories.
That’s because while the administration wants to shut down these illegal plants, it also wants to ensure the workers don’t lose their livelihood.
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