The locals call it “Bajigram,” or ‘firecracker village’. Within the Nilganj village of Dattapukur, in the district of 24 Parganas North in West Bengal, illegal firecracker manufacturing has evolved into a small-scale industry. Hundreds of local residents and individuals from outside the area work as daily labourers, engaging in this activity without any safety measures in place.At around 9 am on Sunday, a powerful explosion rocked the residence of a local Trinamool Congress activist Ajibar Rahman, instantly killing at least eight people. Passersby on the road nearby were also knocked down. Subsequently, the adjacent houses began to collapse one after the other. The haze and dust generated by the explosion took nearly 20 minutes to settle. By that time, the concrete structure of the house had transformed into a heap of rubble. The force of the blast caused body parts of the factory workers to be scattered across rooftops of nearby houses, and some fragments even landed more than 100 metres away. The explosion’s sound resonated as far as Barasat town, located nearly 5 kilometres away from the site of the incident.Since May, this marks the fifth incident of explosions in illicit firecracker facilities within West Bengal, claiming the lives of a total of 28 people. On May 16, another explosion erupted in an unauthorised firecracker factory situated in Egra, Purba Medinipur district, resulting in the deaths of nine people. Ten days after the Egra explosion, West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee made a public promise during her visit to the site. She declared that the government would take stringent measures against illicit firecracker factories and introduce the production of environmentally friendly “green” fireworks.Clearly, limited progress has been made since then. The Wire spoke with several residents in Nilganj whose houses bore the brunt of the explosion’s impact on Sunday. A woman, who preferred not to disclose her name due to concerns about repercussions from the ruling party, revealed that previous explosions had occurred at the factory as well, but they went unnoticed by the media.She said, “There were quite a few instances of explosions in that factory before. We witnessed through our windows the sight of blood-stained bodies being carried away. Nobody knew if they were alive or dead. The local Trinamool leaders instructed us to stay away from that area. The police stated it was their internal matter, and outsiders should not interfere. However, this is the first time that all neighbouring houses have been damaged due to the intensity of the explosion.”The frustration among the local residents is evident, as they accuse the police of being complicit in shielding the owners of illegal firecracker factories. Soon after the explosion, they broke into a chemical “laboratory” within a nearby brick kiln, containing substantial quantities of chemicals, glass beakers, and machinery that they allege are being used for producing explosives. The president of the All Bangla Fireworks Traders Association, Babla Roy, also confirmed this assertion. He explained that potassium chloride, a significant chemical in creating crude bombs but not typically used in firecrackers, was indeed discovered at the site of the explosion.The house where the explosion occurred was owned by Ajibur Rahman, who, along with Samsul Ali, operated the brick kiln. They had jointly rented the house to Keyamat Ali, who was killed in the blast. Both Ajibur and Samsul are activists of the Trinamool Congress, which is purportedly the reason they were able to run the illegal work even though the police were aware of it.Many residents with whom The Wire spoke expressed their concerns about such factories – which could explode at any time – being located in the midst of a densely populated area. They claimed to have approached the police multiple times expressing their concerns and seeking assistance. However, they say they were threatened with false charges. As per the locals, despite the seizure of illegal firecrackers and bombs worth crores from the factory owner a few months ago, the police took no action. Instead, they detained 18 villagers who had protested against the factory.The names of two key ministers in the West Bengal government, Jyotipriyo Mallick and Rathin Ghosh, have emerged in connection with these allegations, with locals asserting that they were involved in supporting these unlawful activities. On Sunday, the local MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, during her visit, reportedly warned of consequences for individuals accusing the administration of inaction.“I went there for campaigning during the panchayat election, but I didn’t know there was a firecracker factory there. I know of one in Narayanpur. This was an ISF [Indian Secular Front, an opposition party] conspiracy as they won the Panchayat poll here,” said Rathin Ghosh, the food and supplies minister.Both locals and ISF leader Naushad Siddiqui denied the claim. Siddiqui alleged, “Bombs were made here under the guise of betting. All the ministers and police used to get their share of money from here. The incident needs to be investigated by NIA.”BJP leader Subhendu Adhikari also demanded an NIA investigation. Across North and South 24 Parganas, hundreds of illegal firecrackers and crude bomb-making factories have been thriving. The factory in Duttapukur used to employ close to 100 local women who were engaged in packing ‘firecrackers’.“The ruling party is directly involved in this illegal activity. They have been collecting haftas regularly from these illegal bomb makers. There was an explosion four years back. When locals protested, police and the ruling party leaders threatened locals and detained them under false cases,” alleged CPI (M) state secretary Md Salim. Both Rahman and Ali, the TMC activists who allegedly ran the factory, were arrested in the past but got bail due to diluted charges. A similar pattern was observed in Egra as well, where the factory owner Bhanu Bag resumed illegal firecracker manufacturing after being released on bail. “Leaders like Ali supply the poor families with bombs and fireworks materials. The more they make, the more they earn. What will the poor do? There are families where everyone is working for these illegal factories, but no one will admit it in public. But there is a huge demand for crude bombs and firecrackers until next April-May. A family can earn Rs 8,000-10,000 a month by working all day. But the factory owners make the real money. They quickly become rich,” explained Samshuddin Qazi, a local resident. In both Egra and Duttapukur, villagers were compelled to engage in unlawful activities out of desperation due to the absence of legitimate employment opportunities. It is evident that the rural economy in West Bengal is under considerable strain, despite claims of development and progress. The lack of sustained efforts to create meaningful employment opportunities has led to a vacuum that illegal activities are increasingly filling. The gradual decline in funds allocated by the Union government to MGNREGA has further worsened this situation, a fact used by the Trinamool Congress spokesperson to shift the blame.In his usual tactic of finger-pointing at the state government, LoP @SuvenduWB has conveniently forgotten to mention that:👉Those who lost their lives in Egra were driven to hazardous work due to the lack of opportunities under the 100 days of work scheme whose funds in Bengal… https://t.co/pkbMxsHlJ7— Kunal Ghosh (@KunalGhoshAgain) August 27, 2023Indraneel Dasgupta, a professor of economics at ISI Kolkata, said that every time there is an unfortunate incident in Bengal or one that involves Bengalis, the state government and ruling party leaders tend to attribute it to the freezing of MGNREGA funds. “While it’s true that the fund freeze is impacting the rural population of the state, it highlights a failure on the part of the state government to create sufficient employment opportunities. Whether it’s the Coromandel accident, the Mizoram bridge collapse, or the explosion in the crude bomb factory, the authorities are resorting to the same explanation,” Dasgupta said.“This pattern suggests that the rural economy in the state is facing significant challenges, despite the chief minister’s lofty claims. Unfortunately, there appears to be a lack of substantial efforts to generate meaningful rural employment. There are two options left to the rural people: seasonal migration to southern states where the average wage is almost double that in West Bengal or work in illegal or hazardous trade like firecracker factories for livelihood,” the professor said.Over the past few months, West Bengal has been marred by a series of explosions. These incidents lay bare the vulnerabilities of a population caught between a lack of legitimate livelihoods and the pervasive risks of illegal activities. Below is a timeline of these events:August 27: An explosion occurred at the residence of a Trinamool worker, claiming nine lives.July 30: A student from the fourth grade, Yousuf Mandal, lost his hand due to an explosion caused by a bomb-making attempt in Golbagan, Ward 2 of Basirhat Municipality.July 26: An explosion occurred in the house of Trinamool leader Golam Rasul in Hazrapur village of Dubrajpur. Bomb-making activities were reportedly underway.July 3: An attempt to make a bomb resulted in an explosion that claimed the life of Trinamool worker Paritosh Mondal in Kuchiya Moda village of Haldia Block.June 5: A teenager lost his life in Ward 10 of Bongaon due to a bomb explosion.May 23: A bomb explosion in English Bazar took the lives of two van drivers.May 22: A blast took place in the house of a Trinamool worker in Ghodapara-Kolai Danga village, Dubrajpur.May 21: An illegal bomb-making factory in Bajbaj’s Nandarampur Daspara exploded, claiming three lives.May 18: Laily Bibi, a Trinamool member, lost her life due to an explosion in Raghunathganj, Murshidabad.May 16: A massive explosion occurred in an illegal firecracker factory associated with a Trinamool leader in Egra. The incident claimed nine lives.