HC grants permission for fireworks display at Ernakulam Shiva temple

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Ernakulam district collector to allow the Ernakulam Kshetra Kshema Samithi to stage fireworks display on two days in connection with the annual temple festival at the Ernakulam Shiva(Ernakulathappan) temple. The court made it clear that popgun fireworks should be permitted only if devaswom possesses a permanent LE-2 licence.

A division bench of Justice C T Ravikumar and Justice N Nagaresh held that the samiti should ensure that the magazine or the storeroom is situated at a distance of 200m from the site of the fireworks display. The court issued the order while allowing a petition from A Balagopalan, secretary of the samiti, seeking to stay the district collector’s order declining permission to the committee to grant licence for the same.
When the case came up for hearing, Senior Advocate P Viswanathan submitted the list of items to be included in the fireworks display . He also explained the manner in which these crackers will explode. Every year on the day of ‘Valiya vilakku’, ‘Pakalppooram’ is staged. Immediately after ‘Pakalpooram’, the fireworks display is held, as per the age-old practice.

The bench directed the district collector to issue permits by way of licence to conduct the fireworks on Wednesday and Friday while ensuring strict adherence to using the items mentioned in the application submitted  for securing permission for the fireworks. The authorities, including  police, revenue and fire safety department, should ensure that competent officers are deputed to see that the fireworks display is conducted in accordance with the conditions and that only permitted items are used during the display. “Needless to say, before the commencement of the fireworks display, barricades shall be put up at a distance of 100 m from the site of the  display on all sides and that no person except those who conduct the display shall be permitted  with a 100 m radius,”  the court held.

S Kannan, government pleader, submitted that the collector had refused  licence on the grounds that the temple authorities will not be able to comply with the minimum distance norm of 100 m  and  250 m from the hospitals. However, the court found that the authorities had not carried out any measurement to find out whether this will be possible. The government pleader further handed over the circular issued by the state police chief regarding the precautions to be adopted by the police in the matter of fireworks display.
It stated that police being the first responder to any mishap or accident, it is incumbent on them to take all necessary  action to prevent any tragic incident. Besides, the police are bound to prosecute those who violate the law.

Fireworks display List of items
Ola padakkam
Thukalan
Chinese crackers
Mazhathoranam
Mathappu