108 Dead In Kollam Fire, Temple Trustees Are Missing

Author yuvamind

KOLLAM: There is a major tragedy news that a day after 108 people were killed in a fire at a temple in Kollam of Kerala, officials in charge of running more than 1,000 Hindu shrines in the state say they will not accept a ban on fireworks.
Here are the latest developments in this major tragedy:  
  1. Very early on Sunday morning, 10,000 people were present at the Puttingal Devi temple, about 70 km from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, to watch a fireworks display at a major annual festival.
  2. Suddenly, a cracker fell onto a shed where the fireworks were stored, sparking a string of powerful explosions that blew the roof off the administrative block of the temple and caused another building to collapse.
  3. Nearly 400 people are injured. Fireworks had been banned by local officials in Kollam, but the temple went ahead with a competition to stage the most spectacular ones.
  4. S Shahnawaz, the Additional District Magistrate, and A Shinamol, the Collector of the area, both told NDTV that newspaper reports incorrectly state that they were pressured by politicians into sanctioning the fireworks. Both said they refused permission.
  5. Kerala is studded with temples managed by rich and powerful trusts that often violate regulations. Today, the Travancore Devaswom Board, in charge of nearly 1,000 temples, said it will not obey a ban on fireworks, and that it is up to the government to ensure public safety.
  6. Kerala is in the middle of its election - it votes on May 16 and campaigning is on. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the Kollam district administration had denied the temple authorities permission for the display and the government would investigate why they went ahead anyway. "There was no permission to even store the fireworks," he said.
  7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Kollam yesterday with a team of doctors to help state authorities cope with the large number of injured.
  8. Kollam district magistrate A Shainamol was among those who had reportedly told the temple that the fireworks were not permitted.
  9. The explosion from the fireworks was so strong that some parts of the temple roof caved in. The Puttingal temple was built on the site of an ant hill where locals believe a goddess appeared centuries ago.
  10. At least 10 trustees of the temple where the fire ravaged the crowd are reportedly missing. A police case has been filed against 30 people including members of the board that administers the temple.
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