BENGALURU: In the wake of the Attibele firecracker mishap in which 14 people died, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed officers to conduct an inspection of every firecracker godown and shop across the state and cancel their licenses if security measures are not followed.
On Saturday, 14 people were killed when a fire broke out at a firecracker store in Attibele town in Bengaluru.
“All over the state, inspection should be conducted and action should be taken against all the godowns and shops that do not take safety measures and their license should be cancelled,” the CM said in a meeting here on Tuesday.
Chief Minister also issued notices of suspension of the Tehsildar, Inspector and Regional Fire Officer in the Attibele case.
“The government has taken this case seriously and suggested that the officials should take all precautionary measures,” he said.
“You have to be careful while granting a license under the Explosives Act. Who is responsible for the lives of fourteen people? Have you read the act? It should be seen whether they fulfil all the criteria therein,” the CM said.
“Henceforth, district commissioners, superintendents of police and fire brigade officers should conduct site inspections while issuing licences,” he said.
“After verifying whether the inspection report is correct, the decision to grant the license should be taken. In this case, permission was not given to the godown. It was brought to the attention of the audience that permission was given only for sale,” Siddaramaiah said.
There are two types of licences in Bangalore. Permits are issued for permanent shops and temporary shops.
Licences are issued after obtaining a no-objection letter from the BBMP, Electricity, Fire, Traffic, and Law and Order Departments.
Licence is given every five years. No objection letter is required for renewal. Controller of Explosives updates. Amendments of regulations are required in this regard.
The CM suggested writing a letter to the central government in this regard. The CM also suggested changing the rule applicable to the state.
“Attibele-Hosur border area is advised to keep a close watch on firecrackers. Take all kinds of measures to strictly follow the orders of the courts in this regard,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Sivakumar also participated in the meeting. Sivakumar said, “The use of firecrackers should be banned at political conventions and wedding ceremonies in view of safety.”
In the meeting, State Government Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, Director General of Police Alok Mohan, Deputy Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Dr Rajneesh Goyal, Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, DGP Alok Mohan, BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath, Bangalore City District Collector K.A. Dayanand, Bangalore Rural District Collector Dr. Sivashankar, and Chief Minister’s political secretaries Govindaraju, Naseer Ahmed, and other senior officials of the government were present. (ANI)