Former judge letter on fireworks ban continues to resonate

Kochi: A letter written in 2016 by a former judge of the Kerala high court continues to resonate a decade on, particularly in the wake of the recent blast at a fireworks manufacturing unit at Mundathikode, Thrissur, during preparations for the upcoming Pooram festival.Justice V Chitambaresh, while serving as a high court judge, wrote the letter to the registrar general on April 11, 2016, just a day after the fireworks tragedy at Puttingal Devi Temple in Paravur, Kollam, which left more than 100 people dead. In the three-page letter, Chitambaresh sought immediate judicial intervention to ban the use of high-decibel explosive fireworks.In his letter, Justice Chitambaresh expressed serious concern over violations of the Explosives Act, the rules framed under it and standard operating procedures, which were often ignored by festival and programme organisers. He also urged that pyrotechnic displays using ‘amittu', ‘gundu' and ‘kathina' be banned, suggesting that, at most, only low-decibel, Chinese-type crackers be permitted.Acting on the letter, the court registered a case suo motu, in which a division bench later directed strict adherence to Rule 4(3) of the Explosives Rules, 2008, mandating that noise levels be kept below 125 decibels during fireworks displays. Initially, the bench imposed a complete ban on the use of high-decibel firecrackers after sunset; this was later modified in line with Supreme Court directives while continuing to mandate strict compliance with the rules.In his letter, Chitambaresh also noted that barium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sulphur and aluminium powder are the primary raw materials used in manufacturing firecrackers and that potassium chlorate — a banned chemical — is often used to accentuate the blast effect. Notably, the presence of potassium chlorate has been confirmed in majority of man-made tragedies. The chemical was detected in a similar blast in Thrissur in 2006. However, police and other officials have denied the presence of the banned substance in the April 21 blast at Mundathicode and the exact cause of the tragedy remains unclear.Calling for stricter regulation of fireworks displays as times change, Justice Chitambaresh wrote: "Life is the most precious creation on this planet and cannot be replaced by money. The right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is invaluable. Supreme Court has come down heavily on practices such as jallikattu in the name of religious celebration; why not fireworks, which consume human lives?"