Major fire broke out at the cracker factory in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. (Press Trust of India photo)
The toll in the fire incident at the firecracker in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh has risen to 17, which includes 14 women. As investigators probe whether the unit had been given licence to operate this year, it is not clear what caused the fire that gave no one a chance to escape.
Kameshwari has lost her only son, 20-year-old Pilli Manikanta, in the incident. Chandra Rao's 35-year-old wife Manga and 20-year-old son Sathi Babu too were burnt to death in the horrific accident. What is making the family members feel worse is that just about two weeks ago, there was another mishap at the factory, where both Manikanta and Sathi Babu were injured. They had failed to take that as a warning.
"A fortnight ago, his leg was injured in the same factory and he was admitted in a hospital for a week and we were not told about the incident, and today this has happened," said the inconsolable mother.
Chandra Rao, a daily wage labourer who lost both his wife and son in the mishap, says the owner had warned him not to make a big deal of the earlier accident.
"When I questioned the management they said this is very small incident and don't make it big. They assured us that they are like our children and we will take care of them. I don't know what happened yesterday around 3pm," he said.
All those who died in the fire were between 20 and 40 years old, supporting families. 28-year-old Arjangi Ratnam, for instance, had been working here for the last 10 days as daily labour. She is survived by two sons, 5 and 7, too young to even realise what a big loss they have suffered.
With Diwali approaching, there was pressure to make and sell more firecrackers at the manufacturing unit that also served as a godown and selling outlet. This was a seasonal operation that reportedly had government approval for the last 10 years. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered and a case has been registered under the Explosives Act.