SIVAKASI WEATHER
Cracker hub of Sivakasi stares at another 'dud' Diwali

18-10-2018
Cracker hub of Sivakasi stares at another 'dud' Diwali

The word Diwali used to light up the faces of people in Sivakasi, be it fireworks manufacturers or labourers working in their factories, for the huge business or income that the festival brought to them.

But, cases seeking ban on sale of crackers across the country in a bid to tackle pollution and a general decline in the craze for firecrackers in the past few years has put the once-thriving industry and its dependent workers on the edge. The Diwali of 2018 presents a different picture.

Production was affected for more than a month due to a strike demanding government’s intervention in “saving the industry” and seasonal rains leading to losses.

Not just that, the manufacturers have reduced the production capacity due to lack of advance orders from wholesale dealers owing to uncertainty on sale of crackers in view of the pending cases.

The industry, which is pegged to be valued around Rs 6,000 crore, might suffer losses between Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 2,400 crore due to the prevailing uncertain situation, manufacturers claim. They were expecting that the Supreme Court, which has reserved its verdict in the case demanding ban of crackers across India, to deliver its judgement by October first week so that there is clarity on the issue.

The industry suffered huge losses in 2017 after the Supreme Court banned sale of crackers in the Delhi-NCR region at the last minute with the whole sale dealers bearing the brunt.

Though, technically there is no ban this year, wholesale dealers in the Delhi-NCR region have refrained from placing orders due to apprehension that the ban could be enforced yet again at the eleventh hour.
“The case seeking ban on sale of crackers across India has wrecked the lives of both manufacturers and workers. As a result of the case, manufacturers witnessed 30 to 40% decline in crackers’ orders across the country and produced only 60% of fireworks as against their capacity.


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