Chennai: With Diwali round the corner, Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar is supposed to be bustling as 90 per cent of the country's crackers' production is from this district but it wears a deserted look. The fading sparkles in the firecracker industry is due to the blanket ban on fireworks in certain states and the workers in the crackers' factory continue to bear the brunt.
According to a report in Times Of India, Indian Fireworks Manufacturers Association (IFMA) general secretary T Kannan said that there has been a loss of 25 per cent in the production and sale of crackers due to pandemic induced lockdown in 2020 followed by a slump of 40 per cent this year.
"Nearly Rs 500 Crore business would be affected due to the blanket ban in several states in the likes of Delhi, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Haryana. However, Rajasthan has lifted the ban and permitted the sale of green crackers after CM MK Stalin wrote to his counterparts," said Kannan as quoted by Times of India.
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Despite Supreme Court's 2018 ruling, people have been illegally manufacturing the crackers, it was further reported. Stern action would be taken against people who violate the rules, Kannan said, according to the report.
The Supreme Court in 2018 imposed strict conditions on the manufacturers after ordering a blanket ban on crackers manufacturing. This move by the apex court has crippled the fireworks industry. But, ever since the pandemic hit the country, the industry is in the doldrums, said Kannan in the report.