Suvendu Adhikari offers compensation to illegal firecracker factory blast victims’ families

Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal and Bhartiya Janta Party MLA, on Tuesday (February 12, 2025) offered monetary compensation to the illegal firecracker factory blast victims’ families in Kalyani. He demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the incident. 

On February 7, four people, including three women were killed in a massive blast at an illegal firecracker factory in the congested areas of Kalyani Rathtala, Nadia district. On Tuesday (February 12, 2025) afternoon, Mr. Adhikari visited the site and met the victims’ families. He offered ₹2.01 lakh compensation to each family and said that the Opposition could manage to pay more than the West Bengal government.

This comes as a response to the government of West Bengal offering ₹2 lakh each to the families of the victims. Mr. Adhikari said that the Mamata Banerjee government offers to pay the same sum to families whose members die after drinking spurious alcohol. He demanded that the government offer at least ₹50 lakh per family. 

Mr. Adhikari added, “These incidents are happening non-stop and common people are dying. I demand an NIA probe into the matter. These deaths were caused due to the carelessness and irresponsibility of the government. The government should have punished the Municipality Chairman and police.” 

While addressing the locals, Mr. Adhikari also asked people not to fear the local councillors, the police, or Trinamool Congress party “goons”. “They can use your fear to continue such illegal factories, and the four victims are paying the price with their lives,” he said. 

‘Illegal factory’

Within hours of the blast, Nilimesh Roy Chowdhury, chairperson of the Kalyani Municipality and Trinamool councillor of Kalyani’s ward number 11, said that the site of the explosion was a godown for the storage and trade of firecrackers, which had a trading licence.

However, Subrata Guha, Divisional Fire Officer at Nadia district, said, “Their operation was entirely illegal, and no valid licence was given to them by us.”