Explosives go around as quarries flout rules

KOCHI: The absence of an effective system to monitor the amount of explosives stocked by quarry owners has reportedly led to illegal transaction of explosives and detonators across the state.According to the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO), ever since the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) has been empowered to grant licence to small quarry owners, under the Explosive Act 2008, illegal sales of explosives and detonators have become rampant. “There are more than 3000 quarries in the state, of which around 20 per cent does not own a licence. However, ever since the ADM office has been given the power to grant the licence to small quarry owners to possess 25 kg of explosives and 1500 detonators, there is no proper check to keep account of how much explosives has been used and what is the quantity stocked,” said a senior official with the PESO. Before the Explosive Act 2008 came into force, the PESO was the lone organisation which looked over all the explosive-related activities, including issuing licences to the sellers and buyers. “We used to monitor the entire market activities including buying and selling of explosives and detonators. We kept a tab on the the amount of explosives stored by each licencee. Even then there were cases of detonators being leaked. Now, with the absence of a strict monitoring system, illegal sales  would surge,” the official said. During the last three years, the amount of  explosives seized for storing without a licence have increased,” he added.The police are also directed to conduct regular checking to prevent illegal storage of explosives by the licencee. “Though it has been made mandatory for the Police Department to conduct quarterly checks, it is very hard to detect whether any unused explosives acquired by the licence has been diverted to other channels. We can only check whether the person has a licence and whether anyone is storing explosives above the prescribed limit,” said a senior police official.