A child injured in a firecracker explosion. Picture courtesy Health Ministry

Inferior firecrackers cause for rise in injuries

Parents’ negligence another cause:

Inferior and substandard firecrackers are one of the main factors responsible for the high incidence of firecracker injuries during the festive season, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman said that parents’ negligence too was another factor for injuries among children in particular. The service cord of most firecrackers was not even two inches in length when the standard cracker should have at least a four inch cord.

As a result the cracker ignited close to the body of the person who lighted it before he or she could release it, the spokesman said. Minister Maithripala Sirisena has drawn his attention towards this matter and decided to recommend to the Government the need to create an awareness among owners of fireworks factories on the need to follow proper standards in the manufacture of fire crackers.