No doubt, it will take years for the traumatized people of the temple town of Paravur to pick up the pieces. But what compounds the tragedy is the fact that it was a deadly mix of official negligence and violation of laws that caused it.

The man-made tragedy has touched off a fiery debate on the need for an immediate end to the display of fireworks at temples and other places of religious worship.

Opinion, however, is sharply divided on the burning issue. While there is one school of thought which favours an immediate ban , there is stiff opposition to the ban demand.

For instance, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy himself is against a ban, on the ground that it would be impossible to enforce a ban as fireworks displays are part of the rituals. The Chief Minister, however, favoured tightening of the norms for providing licence for fireworks displays.

Among those who cry for an immediate ban is the head of the Malankara Orthodox Church, Baselios Marthoma Paulose, who has exhorted the followers to avoid fireworks displays during church festivals. He has also sought effective steps to avoid recurrence of such tragedies.

Meanwhile, a preliminary enquiry by Chief Controller of Explosives has come to the conclusion that use of banned chemicals, violation of safety norms and an illegally constructed storehouse spawned the ghastly accident. There are signs of large-scale use of the banned potassium chlorate.

Another major violation was in respect of the distance to be maintained between the spectators and the fireworks display. Rules demand that a 100-meter distance safety zone should be ensured. Obviously, that has not been the case in the Paravur temple tragedy.

Also, the fireworks display should not be allowed within 50 meters of the storehouse. The condition that the storehouse should be made of non-inflammable material, closed and secured to prevent access to unauthorised persons, also does not seem to have been met either.

Last but not the least, the fireworks display was also in blatant violation of the Supreme Court order banning fireworks between sunset and sunrise.

The order issued by the Kollam district administration on the application made by the Puttingal temple committee bristles with many lapses, sources point out.

It has been revealed that the police gave the go-ahead for the fireworks display despite an order from the Kollam collector and the ADM banning it. It is learnt that the temple committee, which enjoyed the backing of powerful politicians, pressured the police to ignore the orders banning the fireworks display. The Crime Branch, which has been asked to probe the tragedy will look into all aspects of official negligence and administrative lapses which caused the ghastly accident.

It is not as if there ARE no laws strong enough to prevent such tragedies. But the law seldom gets enforced, thanks to the pressure from politicians and religious bodies. Unless the powers that be resist such pressures, there are many more tragedies waiting to happen as the festival season in Kerala is in full cry. Will wiser counsels prevail? (IPA Service)