Banning import and sale of Chinese firecrackers has had little or no effect on domestically made crackers as traders across major cities report poor business owing to anti-cracker campaigns run by schools, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and others, noted an ASSOCHAM survey-cum-analysis.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) interacted with firecracker wholesalers, retailers, traders in different parts of the country to gauge the enthusiasm and demand for firecrackers together with impact of ban on Chinese crackers across India.
“It is not just Chinese firecrackers but multiple factors like growing environmental awareness, rising cost of living, growing tendency amid people to save their hard-earned money rather than spoiling it on burning crackers, paucity of time, traffic congestions during festive period and others have together dented this business over the years,” said majority of 250 firecracker traders.
Most of the traders said they have seen a sharp decline of about 20 per cent year-on-year from past five years and have also almost halved the amount of crackers they used to get in wake of poor sales.
“Banning Chinese firecrackers was a welcome move which was aimed at strengthening the domestic industry, however growing criticism of bursting firecrackers and all the negative publici ty together with rising air and noise pollution have eventually faded the growth of firecracker industry across India,” said DS Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s survey-cum-analysis.
“About hundreds of units in Sivakasi have shut their shop owing to intense campaigns and growing sales of China-made crackers over the years, it is estimated that about 30,000 people have lost their livelihood,” said Rawat.