CHENNAI: It is that time of the year when the fireworks hub of Virudhunagar would bustle with activity in the runup to Diwali. Nearly 90% of the country’s crackers are made here, but the sparkle has been fading for the industry with each passing year as manufacturers and workers face one crisis after another.
The blanket ban on fireworks in certain states citing air pollution landed a body blow to them in December 2020, at a time when they were reeling under the Covid induced restrictions on holding festivals. Indian Fireworks Manufacturers Association (TIFMA) general secretary T Kannan says if the production and sale of crackers were affected by nearly 25% due to the pandemic in 2020, they have slumped by nearly 40% this year.
Following the 2018 Supreme Court order imposing stringent conditions on cracker manufacture, they had been producing green crackers with CSIR-NEERI’s (CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) prescribed formulation that cuts emission by 20-30% than regular crackers. The transition had been difficult but things were running smooth till 2019, after which the pandemic struck, virtually crippling the industry.
“A few years ago, we would get continuous work at the cracker units throughout the year except for a few days during rain and a month of closure after Diwali. Even during that brief period of closure of units, the workers suffer a lot without alternative employment.
However, last year the cracker units were closed for a few months due to the pandemic,” said M Mahalakshmi, district secretary of the pro-CITU Fireworks and Matches Workers Association. They were subsequently permitted to function with restrictions such as with only 50% manpower.
Due to this, most of the employees were left without work. Though the restrictions were lifted this year, several employees are unable to get work as production has come down due to the ban in some states.
“Nearly ₹500 crore business would be affected due to the blanket ban in Delhi, Odisha, Rajasthan and Haryana. However, Rajasthan has lifted the ban and permitted sale of green crackers after chief minister M K Stalin wrote to his counterparts in the four states,” Kannan said.
It was in this context that recently the Supreme Court took a serious view of some manufacturers using banned chemicals in violation of its 2018 order. Asked how such kind of illegalities would affect the industry, Kannan said, “The practice of lease and sub-lease of the cracker units is still prevalent, though it is against the rules. This apart, people are also involved in illegal manufacture of crackers at their houses and by setting up sheds,” noted Kannan.
He said action could be taken against manufacturers who violate rules. Production and sale of green crackers could be regularised by putting in place a mechanism by governments instead of imposing a blanket ban on fireworks.
Federation of Tamil Nadu Fireworks Traders general secretary N Elangovan said traders have apprehensions on investing in the business as they would have suffered a huge loss after being unable to sell the crackers they procured due to the ban and Covid curbs.
“If the industry continues to face such hurdles in future, manufacturers would close down the cracker units, which would render lakhs of employees jobless,” Mahalakshmi said, appealing to the Centre and state governments to safeguard the industry.
