Fireworks, elephants add colour, but claim human lives

The pre-dawn accident at the Devi Temple at Paravoor on Sunday that killed over 105 people is the worst-ever fireworks disaster in Kerala – where temple festivals with fireworks and elephant parades have been increasing in number, scale and grandeur over the past decade.

Fireworks accidents that kill and maim people are routine in Kerala during temple festivals which take place mostly in the summer months.

There are around 150 temples where large-scale fireworks displays are conducted every year.

Fireworks events are held at church festivals too, particularly in Thrissur district, though by far at a reduced scale when compared to temple festivals. Though Muslims usually look down upon fireworks display at their festivals, limited displays are held at a few annual festivals.

Thrissur and Palakkad districts are known for large-scale temple festivals which are rich in colour, sound and rhythm.

Lakhs of people attend these festivals where fireworks displays are held for up to two or three hours.

By far the most renowned and the grandest is the Thrissur Pooram festival held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple at Thrissur. The competitive fireworks displays there are among the largest in the world.

The Nenmara-Vallangi festival in Palakkad district is another major temple festival where fireworks are used extensively.

Both Thrissur and Nenmara-Vallangi festivals have elephant parades in which scores of tuskers participate.

However, at temple festivals in southern Kerala, fireworks displays are not as grand as those in Thrissur-Palakkad, though the Paravoor festival is known for its fireworks event.

A sizeable number of fireworks disasters and accidents at fireworks manufacturing units take place in the Thrissur-Palakkad region.

Accidents routine

Statistics show that 213 fireworks-related accidents took place across Kerala in three years from 2013 killing 451 persons. Fifty of these accidents occurred in Thrissur-Palakkad claiming the lives of 101 persons.

The biggest disaster before Paravoor took place on January 14, 1952 at Sabarimala.

At a fireworks accident at another temple in Kollam district, at Malanad in 1990, 26 people lost their lives.

In 1987, 27 people who were watching a fireworks display at the Jagannatha temple sitting on the nearby rail tracks at Thalassery got run over by a train.

In the same year, 20 died at a temple at Velur in Thrissur district.

In an accident in a fireworks unit at Thrangayi in the district ten years ago, 12 workers lost lives while a passenger on train passing nearby got thrown out of the train under the impact of the explosion and died.

At the accidents at the Thrissur Pooram, eight died in 1978 while seven died in 2006.

While spectators are drawn to a festival depending on the number of tuskers paraded and the enormity of the fireworks, the loss of human lives caused by the two are often ignored.

The Paravoor disaster is the worst in the history of fireworks disasters not only because of the high casualty but also the blatant violations of the rules and all the safety norms.

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