Shoppers have started buying different firecrackers in Raipur as they prepare for the Diwali, the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. Hydrabadi sparklers have emerged as their favourites.
The festival is only a few days away, but shops have already been opened at many places of this State capital to cater to the festival crowd. The other items which would attract the buyers this year are flower crackers, and those emit silver stars like rain when ignited. Some of the crackers which can emit colourful stars when ignited are named as Mumbai night and Ulala Ulala.
Fire cracker association chairman Rajkishor Mahakar said the price of crackers this year has increased by twenty per cent because of the high diesel and raw material cost.
He also expressed his displeasure that the local civic body has yet to provide water facilities to the firecrackers traders. The shopping venues allotted to the firecracker traders have also not yet been cleaned.Sajid Aktar, a firecracker seller said although shops have been opened much before; they expect to do the actual business only during the last three days of prior to Diwali.
The Shivkashi which produces country’s more than eighty per cent of the firecrackers this year received heavy rainfall as a result the firecracker production was hit. Sakil Mirza, another firecracker trader said the firecracker production was also affected in Shivkashi due to frequent power cut.
As a result many of the firecrackers are being charged ten times more than what it was selling around this time last year. Hiralal Singh, a buyer who came to a shop to purchase crackers said his son had already prepared a list of the fire crackers he wants. Whatever could be the cost, we have to purchase the crackers to celebrate the festival because it comes only once in a year, he said.