A month after a devastating fireworks tragedy killed 110 people, one can still smell sulphur in the air at the Puttingal Devi temple in Kerala. No wonder, no one is ready to forget the April 10 disaster – or forgive those they think were responsible for the loss of innocent lives.
Twelve people remain warded at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College where 172 injured people were rushed, in the immediate aftermath of the massive fires and explosions.
According to the police, 43 people have been arrested in the case and are in judicial custody. They include 14 temple committee members as well as workers and contractors who organised the fireworks show.
“We are yet to decide the charges to be put against the arrested people,” Additional Director General of Police S. Ananthakrishnan told IANS.
The disaster occurred when a worker involved in lighting the fireworks, ran into a concrete building where a live cracker accidentally fell on a heap of stored powerful fireworks.
Within seconds, the entire lot exploded with a deafening roar, bringing down the building and scattering large chunks of concrete and steel beams in all directions like bullets.
A total of 110 people died and more than 400 were injured.
When an IANS correspondent visited the temple, some 50 people, mostly locals, were discussing the happenings of that night.
The smell of sulphur is still here despite the rains. The smell becomes stronger in the sun. We are providing security to the temple, since the roof of the building which stores valuables in the temple was blown away.R Radhakrishnan, Police Sub-Inspector
The Kerala High Court is monitoring the Crime Branch investigation. A report on the tragedy is set to be submitted to the court when it reopens after vacation next week.
Sarada, 74, who lives barely fifty metres from the temple, said that she had been complaining to the temple management for years regarding the dangers and pollution from the annual fireworks show.
On 8 April, unable to put up with the noise of the exploding fireworks, she moved to a friend’s house.
Sarada’s son Harish Kumar, 47, said the temple officials never paid heed to people’s worries regarding the powerful chemicals used in the firecrackers.
Recalling the fateful night, Kumar said he saw a spark from the fireworks land on the face of a young boy. His face had started to bleed.
I took him to a nearby house and gave him first aid. When I returned, I could not believe my eyes. The concrete building that stored the fireworks was up in flames and all I could hear were screams of people in agony.”Harish Kumar, Witness
Kumar carried nine bleeding people to vehicles to be rushed to hospitals.
“Some were breathing, some were not. I saw the district collector at the spot. I heard her ask the police repeatedly: ‘Who gave you the sanction to conduct these fireworks?’”
When the sun arose in the morning, Kumar saw two concrete buildings razed to rubble. “We could see two bodies under the rubble.”
Now, every day, around 7 in the evening, the temple bells ring. A few people make a beeline for the day’s final prayers.
Sukumaran, a 71-year-old retired Indian Air Force officer, says the temple is now managed by the ‘tantri’ or priest. After being closed for a while, the temple will be reopened on 17 April.
But things have changed for those living around the Puttingal temple complex. The wells in the locality have been cleaned to avoid water contamination. Most residents who suffered varying degrees of damage to their homes are waiting for compensation. Doctors run weekly clinics in and around the temple and give regular counseling to those affected by the tragedy.
Will the Puttingal temple ever again hold a fireworks show?
The answer, from those gathered in the temple complex, is a big ‘no’.
(Sanu George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in. This piece has been published as a part of a special arrangement with IANS)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)