It will pain anyone to read of deaths in explosions at factories where poor workers - men, women and children squat all day in the poor and unsafe conditions of Tamil Nadu firecracker factories to turn out dangerous products.
The main ingredients of firecrackers are all flammable and explosive substances - gunpowder, acids, phosphates and nitrates - but there is no inspection or safeguards by authorities to protect explosions such as these. The only action taken is after the fact, in this case explosion, not with a view to prevent future accidents, but to show the public that something is being done. A few arrests and a lot of Palm-Greasing later, it’s back to the same manner of business. There is considerable money to be made in the sale throughout India of fireworks made in Sivakasi and other surrounding areas in Tamil Nadu so there is no excuse for workers not being made to work in safe and dignified conditions. Yet, the industry has always remained on the fringes of mainstream manufacturing, employing poor people uneducated with no training and with poor wage levels. Here is a government buying billions of dollars of armaments to defend against China and Pakistan while caring little for its own defenceless and humble citizens. Explosion at firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu, 15 feared dead; owner booked | India News,The Indian Express https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-firecracker-factory-death-7185922/ Roland. Toronto.
