Kesinga: Authorities sealed an explosives warehouse in Surujor forest under Sirol panchayat in Kesinga block in Kalahandi district Saturday.
The godown, run by Bhawani Enterprises, was set up in 2019 on about 4 acre land. For the past six years, it has been storing gelatine sticks and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under a licence obtained from the Central government.
With a storage capacity of 20,000 kg, the warehouse currently holds a large quantity of explosives. Bhawani Enterprises has reportedly been supplying explosives from this site to Kesinga, Bhawanipatna, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Jeypore and other areas.
Officials noted that although the law requires armed security guards at such facilities, none were deployed at the warehouse.
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Residents expressed concern that if an explosion were to occur, nearby villages including Podakhamba, Bahadur Pita, Saurapadar, Parlasinga and Sirole could suffer extensive damage to houses, farmland and roads, apart from endangering the residents’ lives.
Following instructions from the Kalahandi Superintendent of Police, a team led by Kesinga SDPO Sandeep Majhi and IIC Jitendra Biswal inspected the site Saturday.
In the presence of magistrate Prashanti Pradhan, the Kesinga tehsildar, the warehouse was sealed until further orders. When contacted, IIC Biswal confirmed the action was taken as per the SP’s directive.
PNN
