14th October 2014

Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

Flower pot and chakkaram at one go

Chennai: Flower pots and ground chakkaram in a combo and a new range of colorful crackers are out this Deepavali to lure shoppers.

As colors denote good spirit and gaiety, colorful garland crackers that burst in multiple colors will be added to the all time favourite 100 wala crackers.

French shots that burst for around half an hour with over 1,000 colorful sprinkles that darts the sky, is another attraction that is targeted towards elite customers. One of its newest kind, it costs Rs 12,000 in the retail market.

Manufacturers have also ventured into e-commerce. Retailers have their own websites that display the list of crackers and their prices. They have also tied up with other web portals through ads, so that their audience is not left out.

“We have a feedback forum on our website that helps us understand the needs of customers, so that we can improvise our products every year. It has become a matter of pride for rich people to show off with the longest garland crackers which are costly. On a quantitative basis, colorful flowerpots and rockets are much sought after,” said V.Ramamoorthy, Jubilant Crackers Pvt Ltd, Sivakasi. Sivakasi has made a turnover of around `5,000 crore so far in the crackers trade.

Although Chinese crackers have come earlier into the market at cheap rates, traders say that quality Indian products are ahead of the hazardous Chinese brands. “Our crackers cater to regional needs like environmental safety and preferences of Indian people,” said T.Srinivasan, a distributor from Chennai who distributes crackers to over 160 outlets.

“The perchlorates added in the Chinese crackers cannot be absorbed easily by plants, which adds to air pollution and its ill effects. In case of accidents, these causes a bigger damage due to their chemical content,” added Ramamoorthy. The nitrate content in Indian brands is absorbed quickly by plants and do not cause damage to the environment, according to manufacturers. “Every manufacturer has come up with new varieties of crackers this year. Customers should ask for new arrivals when they shop for crackers as there are more than ten new varieties that they can look out for,” said Abiruben, president, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA). Fountain and aerial varieties have also increased this season.

As the varieties have increased, TANFAMA has worked on regularizing the maximum retail price (MRP) of crackers, in order to avoid fake discounts that are offered after raising the prices triple fold. “80% of the retailers have complied,” added Abiruben.