Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Firm to barcode each explosive cartridge
Pradip Maitra and Vijay Kumar Yadav
NAGPUR: A fortnight after some loose gelatin sticks manufactured by it were found in an SUV abandoned near billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai, Nagpur’s Solar Industries Limited, a leading manufacturer of commercial explosives, has decided to barcode each explosive cartridges that it manufactures from April 1.
The company’s owner Satyanarayan Nuwal confirmed that the sticks found in the SUV were from his factory unit. He clarified that the gelatin sticks found near Ambani’s house were emulsion-based explosives that have a shelf life of not a maximum of six months, and are useless without a detonator.
Nuwal said he had got calls from Mumbai Police once after the incident.
However, neither he nor his company have received any communication from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) so far. “If they [authorities] need more information about, we will provide them with it accordingly,” he added.
Nuwal said there is no system to track individual explosive cartridges. The trade of commercial explosives is governed by the petroleum and explosives safety organisation (PESO), an agency under the Union commerce and industry ministry.
The Antilia incident also exposes loopholes in PESO’s current tracking system. After the source of explosives used in the 2007 Hyderabad blast was traced to another Nagpur-based company, PESO has built a system to track the movement of commercial explosives through barcoding. However, at present, only boxes in which cartridges are stored and transported are barcoded, Nuwal said. There is no barcoding of individual cartridges, such as the ones found near Ambani’s residence, he added.
In this backdrop, Nuwal said that now barcoding of each cartridge would be made mandatory, so that its purchaser can be identified immediately.
“Though it involves a major cost to barcode each cartridge, we are developing software. There would be barcoding in each cartridge from the next month in view of national security and safety,” Nuwal added.
As provided under the Explosives Rules, 2008, all the data of production and sale of explosives by the company are submitted to PESO’s explosives department and police, Nuwal said, adding that, “This is mandatory and my company is strictly following the explosive rules and norms in this regard.”
Police officers in Mumbai said regulated gelatine sticks are easily available in the grey market.
“Generally, contractors involved in quarrying work, digging bore wells and mining, procure it for controlled explosion works. But as it is widely and commonly used in industrial works, its uses, transportation and possession is not monitored minutely. Hence, taking advantage of loopholes, sometimes anti-social elements get access to it easily,” said an assistant commissioner of police (ACP)-rank officer.
The ACP said that if licensed contractors officially procure gelatine for quarrying work and sell the unused stock in grey market, then there is no check on such activities.
Though as per law the contractor is supposed to maintain a register on the use of explosives, generally they manipulate the record, and there is no regular scrutiny of the register.
All industrial works involving the explosives are controlled by the chief controller of explosives headquartered at Nagpur, and the west circle regional office in CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. This central government department governs all the activities involving all types of explosive (for industrial uses), including their licencing and transportation, as per the Explosives Act, 1884, and The Explosives Substance Act, 1908.