Chennai: With summer heat intensifying in Tamil Nadu, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) has issued fresh safety restrictions for private fireworks manufacturing units to prevent accidents.
Officials said the mixing of chemical raw materials used in fireworks must begin at 6.00 am and be completed by 10.00 am. Workers should not be engaged in fireworks production activities between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm.
The directive follows a series of deadly incidents at fireworks units. On April 19, an explosion at a private unit in Kattanarpatti village in Virudhunagar district killed 25 workers. In another blast at a fireworks factory in the Cumbum area of Theni district, two workers died after their bodies were reportedly dismembered.
PESO also instructed factories to strictly follow safety protocols. Units have been told to collect and keep details and identity proofs of wholesale buyers, warning that violations could lead to cancellation of factory licences.
