Indian firecracker industry crackles with good news

Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 19:30 IST   |    1 Comments
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CHENNAI: The Indian firecracker industry, under attack from environmentalists, claims to have got cracking with more environment-friendly products this Diwali. The industry is mostly based in the Sivakasi district of Tamil Nadu. It is at time of the year -- Diwali, the festival of lights, falls on October 25 - that the firecracker industry is at loggerheads with environmental activists over air and pollution caused by their products. The hazards that firecrackers pose, particularly due to the use of poisonous chemicals of various different kinds, draws public ire. Some in the industry are also accused of employing child labour. But this year the industry has gone out of its way to assure the public that it intends to keep within pollution control rules stipulated by the government of India. The All-India Federation of Fireworks' Association and the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association (Tanfama) have promised more colourful and glittering products, newer display fireworks, a smaller range of bombs and crackers within the prescribed 125 decibel noise level. Taking a proactive role, the associations have also circulated copies of what exactly are the rules in India regarding the use of firecrackers. As many as 540 licensed firework factories in the Sivakasi district meet 95 percent of India's fireworks needs for the festival of lights and other occasions. This translates to a 6 billion industry, of which export earning is negligible. The world uses about 100 billion worth of fireworks every year, of which China alone uses nearly 60 billion during festivals. China is also the largest exporter of fireworks, at a whopping 30 billion annually. "Chinese crackers are much cheaper than India-made ones and universally preferred," says S. Maheswaran, the Tanfama president. Sivakasi district provides work to 400,000 people in the firework industry and provides 350 million to the federal coffers and 150 million to the state exchequer. Over the last 10 years, the Sivakasi industry has been repeatedly accused of using child labour. But Maheswaran insists: "It is only the parallel unlicensed industry, run illegally, which employs child labour and flouts all norms -- the Arms Act, the Explosives Act, the Trade Mark Act. "Every child is our customer, no child is our worker. Fireworks are made for children, not by children," is a slogan adopted this year by Tanfama. The laws of the land themselves allow certain loopholes, the association points out. There is apparently no rule preventing children from buying firecrackers. Anyone can keep with himself 25 kg of crackers. There is no rule prohibiting the use of "atom bombs", a cracker. Only noise levels should be limited to 125 decibels. No licence is required for transporting fireworks. Any vehicle can be used. Inter-state passenger buses bringing in people to Chennai from various districts also carry at the same time huge quantities of firecrackers. "To make crackers with less noise and more colour, certain expensive chemicals are required. Many of these are banned in India as they are very toxic," firecracker manufacturer R. Dinesh told IANS. Dinesh's grandfather P.P.K. Rathinam began a crackers business in Sivakasi 50 years ago that Dinesh runs today. His company has an annual turnover of 17.5 million. "Now all of us are investing in research and development to ensure that what used to be a traditional business is concurrent with the country's noise norms," Dinesh says.
Source: IANS