Move to build explosive magazine on wetland fails

THRISSUR: The move to regularize the construction of an explosive magazine built illegally on a wetland for the fireworks display of Uthralikkavu temple festival has failed, at least for the time being. The festival organizers and officials had jointly launched the move to earn sanction for the explosive magazine on a plot of land forming part of paddy field and classified as wetland.The proposal was to legalise it by declassifying the plot from the category of wetland.
Interestingly, the hastily pursued move was initiated after a meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram last week in the presence of the three ministers from the district, and both the ruling and opposition parties were hand in glove to push the proposal.
The municipality had even passed a unanimous resolution supporting the move. As per the proposal, the festival organizers were to hand over the land to the municipality and legalise the explosive magazine. However, the organizers and the authorities seem to have realized that it will be tough to complete all these procedures before the Pooram, which happens on Tuesday.
District collector S Shanavas said the permission has now been granted for stocking the fireworks in a portable magazine for the festival, as per the high court order.
About 1,400 festivals with fireworks display are being held in different parts of the state every year, and more than 90% of them are being held in paddy fields, according to V K Venkitachalam, secretary of the Heritage Animal Task Force.
"Most of them were hoping that the sanction would set a precedent and they too could follow suit. The government would have then earned the bad reputation of converting the significant area of state's paddy field into explosive magazines," he said.
The organizers are hopeful that they would get the magazine regularized by next year.