Fear and anger grip MP village as firecracker factory explosion leaves a trail of destruction

Neha Chander, 19, burst into tears as she asked government officials how she would take care of her two minor sisters and one younger brother after the death of their parents. Minutes after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited the firecracker explosion site in Madhya Pradesh's Halda on Wednesday, Chander was sitting in a dharna with about 100 angry locals. The accident on the morning of February 6 left 12 people dead and 200 injured, but the “official” figures have been called into question. Their home, just a stone's throw from the factory, was destroyed by the blast, and the children are temporarily housed in a makeshift relief camp.

Currently, Bairagarh village looks like a war-torn area. Local residents said the explosion, which started around 11am, felt like a “strong earthquake”. Jagged pieces of concrete, with dangerous iron bars protruding from them, lie for 300 meters around the site, and debris is scattered for a kilometer around the site. Nearby houses were completely burnt down, and some had cracks in their walls. According to villagers, the explosion lasted about an hour.

“My father and I were returning home from a coaching class when we heard the explosion. My mother, one sister and my grandfather were at home, so my grandfather asked me to run to a safe place, while my grandfather I ran home,” Chandel recalled. Her grandfather was paralyzed for five years and her parents returned to help her grandfather. She saw rocks hit them, but it was only in the evening that she realized they were dead. “I found my grandfather lying on the road, but he was fine,” said Chandel, a final year B.Com student. degree.

A large number of people, including women and teenagers, from nearby villages such as Bairagarh, Reta Khurd, and Halda town worked at the factory. They were hired at a daily wage of ₹300. Around Diwali, during firecracker season, they earned him ₹400 per day. Many people were also employed on contract terms. Collect and store 1,000 pieces Suitori I won ₹200 on a bomb. Local residents claimed that at least 500 to 700 workers were working at the factory every day. Many came from the tribal-dominated districts of Khargon and Betul, and even from states like Bihar.

Sevanti Gond, a native of Dhamjipura in Betul, had come to Halda with her husband and three children to work in a factory about three months ago. She said more than 15 people from her village came with her. She and her two daughters batty (The tail of the fuse lit up and burst the cracker) Suitori I was on the second floor of the factory when the first explosion occurred. “The first explosion was a small explosion, but the manager instructed us all to leave immediately,” she said. There were about 60 workers in the hall she was in, she added. “We started running down the stairs as quickly as we could and exited the factory premises to get to a safe place,” she said. Local residents said it was the second explosion that shook the ground.

At a local hospital in Halda town, Shahrukh Khan, 29, was being treated for a leg injury caused by a fall while running through thorny bushes. Khan, who had filled it with explosive gunpowder that would later become a bomb, said: “I had just returned to the hall after a break when I heard the first explosion. There was so much smoke that I couldn't see anything.'' I just ran because I knew something was wrong.”

counter theory

State Congress leader Jitu Patwari alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government was “concealing the real death toll” and termed the accident a “government-manufactured crime”. Congress leader and Halda resident Kedar Sirohi said there were tin shacks built for workers from outside the area. They lived there with their families. “Where is everyone?” he said.

Locals said most of the staff who mixed the chemicals to make the explosive gunpowder were tribals from nearby districts. They were called Mama, following the tribe's tradition of calling older men. Mr Khan said: “One mum I know told me that two of her fellow staff members had died in the explosion, but their names were not recorded.''

Zilla Panchayat Halda CEO Rohit Sisoniya, who was appointed collector after Rishi Garg's transfer on February 7, refuted the allegations. “Many officials and I were at the accident scene throughout the work carried out by the NDRF team.” [National Disaster Response Force] and SDRF [State Disaster Response Force]. If there had been human remains, they would definitely have been found,” Sisoniya said. On Thursday, Aditya Singh, a 2014 IAS officer and currently deputy secretary in the Department of Science and Technology, was appointed collector. Abhinav Chokse, a 2018 batch cadre IPS officer, will take over as the new superintendent of police of Halda as per government orders.

Official efforts

Police arrested Rajesh Agrawal, Somesh Agrawal (brothers and owners) and Rafique (factory supervisor) on the night of February 6. Somesh and Rafique were sent to police custody for 14 days, while Rajesh was sent directly to jail due to kidney disease. The state government has set up a three-member committee to investigate the incident, and police are also investigating. Officials said the Agrawal brothers have obtained 12 licenses for manufacturing, storing and selling firecrackers in the names of various family members. Officials said they had not yet estimated the amount of explosives stored at the Bairagarh factory, but said they were certain it was well over the permitted amount. The district administration sealed all 12 factories belonging to the Agrawal family in the early hours of February 8 in response to various violations.

Licenses are issued by the district administration, state government and central government depending on the licensed capacity. He explained that while the LE-1 permit issued at the district level has a storage or manufacturing capacity of 15 kg of explosives, the centre's LE-5 permit has a manufacturing capacity of 300 kg. “The two LE-1 licenses they hold have now been suspended for more than a month,” the official said, adding that they have two valid licenses at the LE-5 level.

In 2015, an explosion at the same factory in Bairagarh killed two workers. Rajesh Agrawal was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2021 but was granted bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

There is another factory in Reta Kurd village, about 2 km away from the Bairagarh factory, owned by two brothers. It was abandoned soon after the explosion.thousands of Suitori The bombs were lying out to dry in the sun, and although many of the tin sheds were locked, the open sheds had large quantities of explosive gunpowder and other cracker-making materials left out in the open, causing considerable damage. amount is lying near the worker's shack. Kucha Stove is used to cook food. Villagers in Reta Kurdistan have been protesting that the factory is located so close to residential areas, but they say the administration has not listened to their opinions.

A woman from Bairagarh village, who lost her husband in the 2015 incident, said she had agreed to a settlement after fighting for more than two years. “I took the money they offered because I had to feed my children,” she said. She worked at the same factory because she couldn't find any other work. She was inside her factory on February 6, and she said it was just God and luck that saved her.