Kolkata, Feb 8 (IANS): In the wake of the blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Kalyani in West Bengal's Nadia district on Friday afternoon leaving four individuals dead so far, questions have started surfacing over the fate of the “Clusters of Green Firecrackers Factories,” which was proposed by the state government almost two years back after a similar blast at another illegal firecrackers factory at Egra in East Midnapore district in May 2023 killed nine people.

At a crucial cabinet meeting after the Egra blast, the state government took a decision to form a high-power committee to examine the possibilities of accommodating firecrackers at a particular district in one such cluster in each district where only "green" or "environment-friendly" firecrackers will be manufactured.

Subsequently, in June 2023, the state government announced that 18 such "Clusters of Green Firecrackers Factories", would be set up throughout the state and the state government would bear 90 per cent of the cost for that purpose.

The state government then also announced that since land for setting up for those clusters had already been identified, the work for that setting up would start in the next two months.

Now, after almost two years with another similar blast happening at Kalyani, questions are surfacing on the fate of such clusters. While the state government officials are totally tight-lipped in the matter, the opposition parties and environmental activists have started describing that cluster proposal as a sheer gimmick after a tragedy.

According to the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, it is evident now that the cluster proposal floated by the state government two years back was nothing but a tactic on the part of the state administration to divert attention from the Egra blast in May 2023. "Nothing has changed since then. After any tragedy, some administrative eyewash attempts surface and after some time, everything goes back to the same way," he had claimed.

CPI-M Politburo member and state Secretary Md Salim raised apprehensions about whether the said factory at Kalyani where the blast took place on Friday was really manufacturing ordinary firecrackers or some more deadly explosives.

According to him, every time there is such a blast, attempts are made by the administration to confuse firecrackers and bombs.

According to city-based green technologist and environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh, the fact that this unit was not part of the designated cluster which was promised by the state government two years back raises serious concerns about unfulfilled promises by the authorities on this count.

"The tragedy also reflects lack of regulation and oversight and inadequate safety measures," Ghosh said.