AHMEDABAD: The devastating explosion at a firecracker factory and godown in north Gujarat's Deesa on Tuesday not only claimed 21 lives but also exposed the shocking exploitation of children for labour enabled by the criminal negligence of the administration.
Survivors and local sources recount harrowing tales of children as young as six being forced to handle dangerous explosives for meagre wages.
Sources within the Deesa police department and the victims' families confirmed that these children were assigned tasks — tying delicate fuses, packing gunpowder into shells, and assembling fireworks — jobs that demanded precision, patience, and, most disturbingly, small hands. Their parents, mostly impoverished migrant labourers, were given between Rs 100 and Rs 200 per day. Some never received a single rupee before the tragedy struck.
The aftermath of the blast was horrific. Shattered bodies lay amid the ruins, and in one chilling case, only a child's severed head was recovered, leaving no doubt about his fate. "My three children — all minors — were made to work in the crackers factory," said Bhagwan Nayak, a grieving labourer from Harda, Madhya Pradesh, who lost all his children in the explosion.
Despite clear evidence of illegal child labour and hazardous working conditions, Banaskantha police have yet to press charges related to these crimes. Authorities have also failed to explain how such a dangerous operation was allowed to continue unchecked.
Ironically, according to police sources and the victims' families, 20 of the 27 workers killed in this blast had survived a similar firecracker explosion in Harda, Madhya Pradesh, in Feb 2024, which had claimed 11 lives. "After the Harda explosion, these same labourers were relocated to Deesa to work for the same accused factory owner, Rajesh Agrawal, who remains at large," said a police source close to the development.
"These labourers were promised housing and Rs300 to Rs400 per day," said a police officer involved in the investigation. "Instead, they were forced to live inside the same firecracker storage unit where they ultimately perished."
Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, who is leading protests demanding justice, has condemned the authorities for failing to prevent child exploitation and wage violations. "These workers should have been paid a minimum of Rs 1,000 per day. Instead, they were subjected to life-threatening work under criminal conditions. This is a systemic failure, and those responsible must be held accountable," said Mevani.
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