Meet to decide on Thrissur Pooram fireworks

Thrissur: A high-level meeting to be attended by industries minister A. C. Moideen, agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar, deputy controller of explosives from Kochi along with district collector A. Kowsigan on April 12 in Thiruvananthapuram will discuss the smooth conduct of Thrissur Pooram fireworks on May 6. Uncertainty is looming over the possibility of traditional fireworks this year even after Union commerce and industries minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Monday that district collector would give permission for fireworks strictly abiding by the existing explosive and safety rules.

On Thursday, the collector said the state cabinet had discussed the concerns of fireworks this year, and the April 12 meeting was based on it. “Use of permissible chemicals needs to be made transparent, and both safety and tradition need to be given equal importance,” he told reporters. The participants, Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, are planning to meet the chief controller of explosives in Nagpur on April 16 to get clarification on the restrictions in place for this year. Meanwhile, anti-fireworks activist and secretary of Heritage Animal Task Force V. K. Venkitachalam said he would submit a memorandum to the collector on Friday asking him to keep the key of the magazines to store fireworks of both the devaswoms to prevent unauthorised storing of fireworks in the run-up.