Complying with the last week’s order of the Calcutta High Court, the state government handed over a cheque of Rs 18.40 lakh as compensation to the families who had lost their children in a fire at a cracker factory at Bagnan in Howrah district on September 11, 1995.A total of 23 minors who worked in the factory had died in the fire at the Nawab cracker factory. On Friday, 13 families appeared in the court to receive the compensation amount.Acting on a PIL filed by advocate Mrinmay Shau alleging the state government of failing to pay Rs 1lakh compensation to the family members of the victims in violation of the 1998 order passed by the High Court, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice Sanjib Banerjee on December 5 had directed the Additional District Magistrate of Howrah to distribute the compensation amount after verifying the victim’s identities. In the PIL, Shau stated that in 2000, the state government had paid Rs 20,000 as compensation against Rs one lakh to the family members whose children. The Bench today also directed the state government to pay an interest of nine per cent annually to the families for delaying in handing over the actual compensation amount, in addition to this.Sabera Begum, who begs in Haturia village after the death of her husband, had lost her four children in the fire. “My two sons Mujibar and Bapi, two daughters Jyotsna and Sharmila were killed in the fire. I was unable to recognise their charred bodies,” she said. In 2000, Sabera had received Rs 80,000 in 2000 as compensation for losing her four minor kids in the fire. Now she will get another Rs 3.20 lakh, as per the court’s order. Sital Malik, who had lost his 14-year-old daughter Sandhya, said: “I lost my daughter who will not come back again. The compensation is a relief for such a poor family. I was forced to send my daughter to the factory for the poor condition of our family. She used to earn Rs 50-60 per week which was of great help to us.”
