Firecracker industry suffers as Covid lockdown restricts movement, orders

 

The upcoming Diwali festival is expected to be a dark one for the firecrackers industry at Sivakasi as nearly 30 per cent of the production is already down and new orders are being rarely placed. The recent order by the Supreme Court for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the use of barium nitrate in the manufacturing of firecrackers added more pressure.

Sivakasi accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the country's firecracker production. Around 1,070 firecracker units, mostly medium and small scale, are located in the district. About 300,000 workers are directly employed by the industry and another 500,000 workers are in the allied sectors.

"For Vinayaka Chaturthi good quantities of firecrackers would be sold in Maharashtra. But this year it did not happen due to lockdown,” said Rajendra Raja, Vice President, Indian Fireworks Manufacturers’ Association. Read More