‘Running Since Time Immemorial’: Why Some Pockets of Bengal Are Dotted with Illegal Cracker Factories

The blast at an illegal firecracker factory in Bengal is not a new incident as there are many such factories in some pockets of the state. On an average, in two to three years, such a blast takes place and people die. There is politics over it and then the matter goes cold only to become an issue when such an incident takes place again.

If we take the example of Bhanu Bag, he has been running an illegal factory since 1995. Sources on the ground said there was a blast in his factory in 1995 as well when four people had died. In 2001, his own brother was affected in another blast in the factory. In 2014, there was another blast in Bag’s factory and, now in 2023, a blast has claimed eight lives.

If you extensively travel in these areas, there are numerous such illegal factories. Over the years, they have mushroomed in some areas of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and East Medinipur.

“Since time immemorial, they are running this business here; the poor people in these areas work in these factories. Local residents have become dependent on them as they work here as the labour and the owners have managed to strike a deal with police so as not to get raided,” a senior officer told News18.

Another person from this region, on the condition of anonymity, said, “These firecracker factories are common and they’re our livelihood; a lot of people in different villages earn from them, we know the risks but we get money.”

Every year, before Kali Puja, a special crackdown takes place on firecrackers. Last year, in such a crackdown, Krishnapada Bag was arrested but got bail. Sources further said it was easy to get bail in these cases, so the action against him was next to nothing. This system has been running smoothly for years now and also existed when the Left Front was in power, sources added.

In 2018, the Trinamool Congress government took an initiative to develop these factories legally so that workers can work in a healthy environment. With a view to developing the manufacturing of fireworks as a major industry and controlling illegal manufacturing, the state government had decided to set up fireworks manufacturing clusters. There are many villages where manufacturing firecrackers is the source of livelihood. The project is ongoing and will likely be able to curb illegal manufacturing.