DNA EXCLUSIVE: Report trashes safety claims

The interim report into the Bawana factory fire tragedy, in which 17 people lost their lives, reveals that the crackers that were stored and packed inside the factory were highly explosive, way beyond the permission limit, and were meant to be exported to the Philippines. 

The report prepared by the nine-member panel, headed by Principal Secretary Home of Delhi government, also stated that the crackers were illegally exported from India to the Philippines with the help of middlemen based in China. 

Also the crackers that were manufactured, packed and exported are banned by the Philippines government as they are highly explosive and many children over there have so far lost their lives to them. 

The panel found the crackers which came under the name of ‘Pacquiao Ultramaa’, named after Philippines professional boxer Manny Pacquiao, was manufactured and exported to the Philippines. 

“Pacquiao Ultraman, a firecracker brand is banned in the Philippines due to the high risks it poses to children as well as adults,” said a member of the panel. 

The panel also found that a big nexus was operating the entire process of manufacturing of crackers, storage and packing and exporting. 

Furthermore, the panel found that the owner of the factory Manoj Jain was working with Lalit Goyal, who used to illegally procure combustible and explosive substances from Hathras in UP, and crackers they were exporting violates The Explosives Act and Explosives Rules 2008. It also found that the explosives in the crackers were beyond that “explosive limit” permitted by the licensing authority to be stored or processed in a particular premises. 

As per the Explosives Rules 2008, the firecrackers for the purpose of export may be manufactured with high sound level or product of such size and design as approved by the Chief Controller of Explosives and the manufacturer shall have a valid export order with him and the sound level for these fire crackers shall conform to the sound level prescribed in the country to which these are intended to be exported. The panel found that they were not complying with the laid out rules of the government. 

The panel also found that there was violation of Bureau of Indian Standards rules for the packages. Further, the packages did not conform to the requirements of the tests as specified for various classifications under International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code or International Air Transport Authority code or United Nations recommendations on the transport of Dangerous Goods and permitted by the Chief Controller.