22nd October 2016

- The Times of India

Diwali 2016: "Made in India" crackers preferred over "Made in China"

The festival of lights is coming up and the buying spree for crackers has begun. But this time around, the demand is all- desi with most city sellers deciding not to sell Chinese made crackers at small shops and wholesale establishments. One of these reasons may be patriotic (owing to Chinas support for Pakistan) and the other, the alleged hazardous nature of Chinese crackers. For Mumbais shop and stall owners, they are set for a booming business with the Indian-made phatakas ...

They are not safe
While the trend towards wanting a "noiseless and smokeless" festival is big this year, folks are opting for desi -made items. Affirms fireworks retailer Chhaya Bhatia from Andheri East, "Licensed dealers will not sell Chinese crackers as they are not safe and therefore not preferable. In demand are desi zameen chakkars , anar and phool baaja (sparklers). Kids also love the chit put which are mini crackling anars ." She admits Chinese ones may have been popular earlier, but this is not so any more. "People are choosing wisely when it comes to their health. Parents especially, want a safe, eco-friendly option, like lesser smoke-emitting ones," she says.

Omkar Berde, another retailer from Vashi, hasnt stocked up on Chinese ones either. "Most sellers have decided not to do so and they are not allowed, too. We have heard that there may be chemicals in the crackers so why take a chance and sell them? One cant put people at risk just for the sake of business," he says. The demand for desi stuff — rassi bombs and ladis — are on. "But mostly its the trio — anar , chakri and phooljhari that people of all ages ask for. Almost 90 per cent of our business comes from this," he adds.

Tests say: "Crackers within limits" decibel norms. This time, not so. Activist Sumaira Abdulali of an anti-noise pollution organisation reveals results of fireworks testing that has been carried out in the city just two days ago. "This year all the crackers are within permissible limits, which is a big, welcome change. The noisiest of these were bombs and a few aerial crackers, but this time even they are within the limit. A big catalyst for this, is increased awareness levels of customers who longer want to buy noisy crackers. Even from the point of view of air pollution, we earlier didnt know what Chinese crackers contained as they were aerial ones and burst high up in the air. So the move to have no Chinese crackers is a good one," she says.