Anbuthan, who heads the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, says the other problem is shortage of staff, the reason why just about a fourth of the manufacturing units could be inspected last year.

So serious is the issue now that a series of high-level meetings have been held in New Delhi attended by the top brass of the internal security and intelligence establishment. First on the agenda: control and regulation of ammonium nitrate.

Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta confirmed to The Sunday Express that a committee headed by Intelligence Bureau official D P Sinha is looking into setting up of a mechanism to regulate the sale and storage of explosives, especially ammonium nitrate. Even amendments in the 1983 Explosives Act are on the anvil related to keeping digital records and mandating inspections.

It’s not going to be easy. “Given the diversity of usage of ammonium nitrate from the fertilizer, quarrying and coal sector, it is impossible to ban its sale. The challenge is to stop leakage and step up enforcement keeping in mind the limitation to the extent of regulation and monitoring you can have. As far as pilferage and theft is concerned, state police agencies have to be sensitised on the issue and the Chief Controller’s office given better manpower and infrastructure.”

(Tomorrow: The Explosive Alerts: Back and forth and going nowhere)