["Wednesday's fire is truly a major one that points to the failure
of many things that have been glaring at anyone's face who went there,"
said Asha Krishnakumar, who runs a market research firm and has investigated
the Sivakasi fireworks industry. "These facilities have to be inspected
frequently. So, why wasn't it done?" While the Om Sakthi plant's license
had been revoked, Ms. Krishnakumar notes that that apparently wasn't enough to
keep it from operating on the next, fatal day.]
By Anupama Chandrasekaran
CHENNAI - A fire that killed dozens this week at an unlicensed fireworks
factory in Sivakasi, the hub of India
More than 700 factories in the Sivakasi area make some 20 billion
rupees, or $360 million, worth of fireworks a year, generally at small and
midsize plants where chemicals are often mishandled and safety precautions
flouted. The workers, who are paid as little as 150 to 300 rupees a day, are
mostly uninsured, and the factories are far away from good medical facilities.
For many years, the industry employed thousands of children, because
they were paid half as much as adults and their hands were suited to working
with the small firecrackers that most factories made then. Child labor has yet
to be eradicated from the industry, according to P. Rajagopal of Nethers
Economic and Educational Development Society, a Sivakasi-based nongovernmental
organization that has been campaigning on behalf of fire victims and child
laborers in the area.
"I was not surprised to hear about this accident," said R.
Vidyasagar, an independent Chennai-based researcher, who travels to Sivakasi
every year to study child labor issues and who lived there for three years in
the early 1990s. "People happily forget about accidents and there is no
political will to see that the workers are provided safety."
The latest fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon in the production
facility of Om Sakthi Fireworks Industries. It triggered an explosion that
killed 38 people, mostly bystanders, according to Bhola Nath, director of Tamil
Nadu Fire and Rescue Services.
The factory's license had been revoked the day before due to safety
violations. Mr. Nath said that more inventory was on hand than regulations
allow, apparently in anticipation of India
The fire Wednesday served as a grim reminder of past industry
disasters. Hundreds of workers have been killed in accidents in Indian
fireworks plants in recent years, including two in Uttar Pradesh in May, and 35
in Bihar in 2005.
In a book titled "Kidnapped Innocence," John Kunnappally, a
former journalist with the regional newspaper Malayala Manorama describes a
similar disaster at the New Dawn fireworks plant in Meenampatty, near Sivakasi,
on July
12, 1991 that killed 38 people.
A fire broke out there at 11:30 a.m. ,
just as work at the plant was reaching full speed, Mr. Kunnappally wrote.
"The midday sun was getting hotter. The fire that broke out with a
thunder engulfed the whole factory within seconds," he wrote.
Since the Meenampatty fire, the amount of government compensation paid
to the families of the workers who die in such catastrophes has quadrupled, to
200,000 rupees. But in other respects, the situation in India Madurai
"Wednesday's fire is truly a major one that points to the failure
of many things that have been glaring at anyone's face who went there,"
said Asha Krishnakumar, who runs a market research firm and has investigated
the Sivakasi fireworks industry. "These facilities have to be inspected
frequently. So, why wasn't it done?" While the Om Sakthi plant's license
had been revoked, Ms. Krishnakumar notes that that apparently wasn't enough to
keep it from operating on the next, fatal day.
Mr. Vidyasagar said that most laborers in fireworks plants, who tend
to be temporary workers paid on a piecework basis, not only are uninsured but
take further risks during the peak season by bringing raw materials home to
assemble fireworks there.
A government official says they are taking steps to make the business
safer.
"We are discussing measures to improve safety conditions" in
the factories, said B. Rangaswamy, deputy chief controller of explosives with
the central government's Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization. He said
his team hopes to expand fire-hazard training and develop methods for
automating the manufacturing process.
The Hindu quoted a government statement as saying that Tamil Nadu's
chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa, has earmarked 11.3 million rupees for a burn
ward at the Sivakasi government hospital, to be run by Madurai
Medical College Hospital
Researchers say the fireworks industry's safety practices need to be
monitored more regularly, by elected officials as well as nongovernmental
organizations. "When deaths occur the whole world wakes up," Ms.
Krishnakumar said.
[The action by Canada contrasts with its decision in 1979 to keep its embassy in Tehran open after the United States Embassy there was seized by students and several diplomats were held hostage. Six Americans found sanctuary in the Canadian Embassy and were eventually smuggled out of the country using Canadian passports.]
By Ian Austen
Mr. Baird told reporters in Vladivostok , Russia Canada had closed its embassy in Tehran and given Iranian diplomats in Canada five days to leave. An online list prepared by the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade indicated Friday morning
that there were 18 Iranian diplomats in Canada.
The action by Canada contrasts with its decision in 1979 to keep its embassy in
Tehran open after the United States Embassy there was seized by
students and several diplomats were held hostage. Six Americans found sanctuary
in the Canadian Embassy and were eventually smuggled out of the country using
Canadian passports.
Mr. Baird offered numerous reasons for his decision,
including an attack last November by a crowd on the British Embassy in Tehran , which led to concerns for the safety of Canadian
diplomats there.
“The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the
Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel,”
Mr. Baird said.
Mr. Baird also noted international criticism of Iran over its support of the government of President Bashar
al-Assad in Syria as it violently suppresses a widespread popular uprising.
He also cited its human rights record, its assistance to terrorist groups and
its noncompliance with United Nations resolutions concerning its nuclear
program.
He added that Iran “routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement
to genocide.”
In a statement, Israel ’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent
of Iran , praised his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, for
“for taking a bold leadership decision that sends a clear message to Iran and the entire world.”
Mr. Netanyahu added, “The resolve that was demonstrated by Canada is highly important in order for the Iranians to realize
that they cannot continue their race toward nuclear weapons.”
Mr. Harper’s Conservative government has been supportive of
Israel on a variety of issues and has mirrored its aggressive
stance on Iran .
The Canadian Embassy had already been reduced to about
seven or eight staff members before the closing. Canada has not had a fully accredited ambassador in Iran since 2007, when Iran expelled the ambassador for unspecified reasons. The
expulsion followed prolonged Canadian protests over the killing of a photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi, in an
Iranian prison in 2003. Ms. Kazemi, a resident of Montreal , held both Canadian and Iranian citizenship.
Mr. Baird did not say why the decision to cut diplomatic
relations had been taken so long after the British Embassy episode, but he
swiftly rejected suggestions that the move indicated that a military attack on
Iran by Israel or other nations was imminent.
“Unequivocally, we have no information about a military
strike on Iran ,” he said.
