Revenue officials seal factory storing fireworks illegally in Thoothukudi

THOOTHUKUDI: Revenue officials in Thoothukudi district on Saturday night sealed a TESCO fireworks manufacturing unit in Masarpatti village near Ettayapuram after an inspection found fireworks allegedly stored beyond the permitted limits and variations in the quantity of sulphur used in the manufacturing process.

Following repeated complaints against TESCO over the alleged illegal storage of fireworks, officials from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Industrial Safety and Health Department conducted an inspection at the unit, an official source said.

During the inspection, officials found fireworks being illegally stored in two containers and a building on the factory premises. They also detected variations in the quantity of sulphur, the source said.

Following the inspection, a team of officials led by Ettayapuram Tahsildar Jeyalakshmi sealed two container lorries, an unauthorised 60 x 24-foot building, the showroom and the sulphur room separately. The officials subsequently locked and sealed the entire fireworks factory.

TESCO Fireworks has been functioning since 2018.