KOCHI: Former Kollam District Collector A Shainamol on Saturday submitted, if the police had taken necessary actions, the Puttingal firework mishap could have been prevented. She was deposing before the Justice S Gopinathan Commission conducting an inquiry into the Puttingal tragedy at its sitting held in Kochi.Shainamol said the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) was the authority to give permission and reject license for carrying out fireworks. In the order rejecting the permission, it was directed to the police to ensure the competitive fireworks do not take place.
“In the order, there was a clear direction to the District Police Chief to ensure no violation of order takes place and in case of any violation, the stringent action was to be initiated. A report in this regard was also to be sent to ADM. The directive was given to the Kollam District Police Chief, and the ACP, CI and SI concerned,” she said.
Similarly, the tehsildar was also asked to be present at Puttingal to monitor the situation. Shainmol said she believes the tehsildar was at the spot. She also said she cannot, however, confirm the officer’s presence.
On April 9, 2016, when the firework tragedy took place, she was in Thiruvananthapuram to attend a meeting related to the election. There was no communication with the ADM about the tragedy on the same day. She came to know about the mishap at around 3.30 am on April 10.