Kollam (Kerala), April 11
A day after the fireworks tragedy at the Puttingal Devi temple in Paravur in Kollam that left 109 people dead and more than 350 injured, a blame game has begun.
The first round has begun with the district collector and the district police chief.
Some unidentified people have stuck up posters about the religion of the district collector, A. Shainamol and additional district magistrate A. Shanavas.
Shainamol has come down strongly on the district police officials who told the media that the district police had initially submitted a report saying permission cannot be given for the fireworks show.
"But on April 9, police changed their position. An explanation will be asked on this change of stand," she told reporters at Kollam.
Shainamol denied there was political pressure, after media reports surfaced that Peethamabara Kurup, a former Kollam Lok Sabha member and Congress leader, asked her to give sanction for the fireworks display.
Kurup told IANS that he had never called her.
"Some vested interests are after me for a while now, and that's how my name surfaced. I am now the president of the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple, and an elephant under our administration was given to the Puttingal Devi temple for a function on April 8 night (Friday) and I went there and lit a lamp and left the temple in five minutes," he claimed.
Shanavas, who was part of the collector's team, was not reachable for his version.
Kollam Police Commissioner P. Prakash said he would comment on the issue only to the probe team.
Hindu Aikyavedi leader J. Haridas said there was laxity on the part of the district administration as they did not do a proper job of finding out about the actual quantity of fireworks used for the display at the temple.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader J.R. Padmakumar also accused the district administration of not doing its job, and asked the media not to divert the issue by taking on the religion of officials.
"This is not the right moment to discuss communal issues as numerous people are grieving," said Padmakumar in a TV channel discussion Monday night.
Soornad Rajasekheran, Congress candidate for the Chathannor assembly constituency, under which the temple falls, blamed the collector for appearing on TV channels Monday.
"She should have been doing her job of coordinating the district administration. I went to quite a few houses of the deceased where they had no money for the funeral. The state government has already released the money, but the district administration took a lot of time to disburse it," alleged Rajasekheran.
The state government has already announced a judicial probe and a probe by the Kerala Police crime branch probe.
Kerala temple tragedy leaves 15 houses ruined
Around 15 houses in the immediate vicinity of the Puttingal Devi temple were damaged beyond repair in Sunday's deadly fireworks tragedy -- in a pointer to the powerful explosive material that caught fire accidentally in the firecracker display.
According to women living in the vicinity of the temple, their houses are now beyond repair. "My house has been completely destroyed. The only way out is to demolish it and rebuild," a 70-year-old woman told news persons.
The fireworks display, that went horribly wrong, left 109 dead and over 300 injured at the temple in the coastal town of Paravur in Kollam.
One of the women, Deepa, a representative of the local body at Paravur, said the tragedy has struck in more ways than one. "Apart from the injuries sustained by many, the people living nearby the temple have been struck by a trauma following the explosions and their aftermath."
Many damaged two-wheelers could be seen lying near the temple site, and bags and suitcases lay scattered around.
People of the area complain that their source of water has been contaminated by the burnt explosives and ash.
"Our well is now fully polluted after the blast. We have no other source of water," said a housewife.
Another woman was angry over the visit of VVIPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi -- both of whom were accompanied by their massive security cover -- to the site of devastation.
"How come there was no security check when the fireworks took place? Are our lives not valuable," she said bitterly.
More reports are emerging about damage to houses located within one square kilometre radius of the temple.
I do not have a single plate, glass or cup left. My window is also not left with any glass, everything is shattered. The locks of the closed doors and windows have all flown away due to explosion," said another woman.
