Attibele fire incident: Karnataka CM suspends tahsildar, 2 officers; allows only sale of green crackers

The fire at an alleged illegal cracker godown on the outskirts of Bengaluru occurred Saturday, October 7, when a consignment of crackers from Tamil Nadu was being unloaded by the workers. Apart from 14 deaths, four people suffered serious injuries.

“The tahsildar concerned, police inspector and regional fire officer should inspect the spot before giving an NOC to the facility. Based on their NOCs, the Deputy Commissioner should issue a licence under Explosive Act and Rules. It should be issued carefully, after spot inspections to check all requirements under the Act are complied with,” Siddaramaiah said.

The licence holder – Ramaswamy Reddy, who is under arrest after the incident – had two licences, one of which was fake. Though he had a licence to store and sell 1,000 kg of crackers, he had a godown that could store around 7,000-8,000 kg of the items, the CM told a news conference.

“The government will strictly implement the Supreme Court order which said that only green crackers could be manufactured and sold and will take action against the violators. Also, vigilance will be intensified to assess whether those with explosive licences follow the required conditions,” he said.

During political functions, processions, weddings, festivals and others only green crackers will be allowed, he added.