West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday apologised to the people of Egra area in Purba Medinipur district of the state for the blast at an illegal firecracker factory in which 12 people were killed and many injured.
The Trinamool Congress supremo, who reached Khadikul village 11 days after the blast, further stated that the incident could have been averted if the intelligence had worked properly.
“I will bow my head down to you and apologise for the incident (blast at the illegal fire factory on May 16)… Had the intelligence worked properly then this blast could have been averted,” Banerjee said after distributing compensation cheques to relatives of those killed and injured in the blast.
She also gave one member of each family of the victims of the May 16 explosion appointment letters as “home guards.”
Banerjee encouraged the locals to alert the local police if they come across any such units in operation and mentioned that two members of the family of the main offender, the owner of the illegal factory, had been detained.
H K Dwivedi, the state’s chief secretary, is with the chief minister of Bengal.