Most people would not know that the rockets, anars and phuljharis that they buy from make-shift kiosks during Diwali are from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, the hub of the cracker industry in India. With an annual turnover of Rs 2,000 a year, the town has over 780 factories employing over 25 lakh people directly and indirectly. However, the industry is witnessing a steady decline due to illegal influx of Chinese crackers and raw material. SHAlINI SAKSENA talks to industry experts to bring you a report
It is Diwali and time for firecrackers. While environmentalists and NGOs have long been propagating a no-cracker era, the industry insists that indigenous crackers are not only risk-free, but they also don’t emit too much smoke and hence are more environment friendly.
Experts in Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi (483 km from Chennai), the hub of firecracker industry, tell you that one should look for chemical formulae like potassium nitrate, aluminum powder, barium nitrate and sulphur if one wants to buy the safer “green” patakas.
There is an interesting story behind how Sivakasi came to be the centre of the firecracker industry. The area caters to 99 per cent domestic cracker consumption in India. States like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat account for the other one per cent. It is said that in the early 20th century P Ayya Nadar set up a matchstick industry. Nadar went to Calcutta to learn everything there was to the matchstick industry. To begin with, the powder on the sticks was applied manually till the machines were imported. later, Nadar shut down the match factory and set up a fireworks factory. The rest is history.
“It is quite by chance that Sivakasi has become the hub. The region is very dry with very little rainfall and the temperature hovers around 48°C for a major part of the year. Nadar realised that the people would not be able to sustain themselves in agriculture alone and that the town needed a new occupation since the people here were very poor and backward. His match industry and later the fireworks factory proved to be a boon for the people here,” says V Ramamoorthy, director of Jubilant Crackers (P) ltd.
Not only this, the weather makes Sivakasi the perfect place for cracker manufacturing. Since the industry uses potassium nitrate mix powder to make crackers, the end product needs to be dried in the sun for long spells. Since there is very little rain in the region, it is a bonus.
The cracker industry that employees over 12 lakh people directly and another 12 lakh indirectly has another feather in its cap. It also has 70 per cent of the country’s match factories in the area. With over 780 factories in the organised sector and 500 in the unorganised, Sivakasi does a business of around Rs 2,000 crore during Diwali. Unfortunately, this booming industry has been witnessing a dip in annual sales in the past few years.
“The demand for desi crackers has seen a decline due to influx of fireworks from China. Despite the fact that our Government has banned Chinese crackers, they are finding there way easily into the open markets. We have been making regular representations to agencies concerned and have been assured that strict measures will be undertaken to ensure that Chinese crackers are not sold. To see the result this time round will be difficult. Hopefully, by next Diwali, things will improve for the better,” AP Selva Rajan, president of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association and director of Sri Kaliswari Fireworks Private limited, tells you.
He also reveals that though the chemicals being used in Chinese crackers are banned, their illegal entry into the country continues from western ports, especially Gujarat. Since Nepal doesn’t have a port, the Indian Government has given permission to offload containers on the Western ports. In most cases, the containers marked for Nepal during this time contain raw material for making crackers and finished products as well. These find their way into India.
“Ports in Gujarat have become a point of entry for illegal crackers and raw material. These chemicals are extremely dangerous and harmful for the environment, but are very cheap. Potassium chloride, a chemical used in making Chinese crackers, costs Rs 50 per kg. On the other hand, potassium nitrate used in the manufacture of Indian crackers costs around Rs 160 per kg. Also the labour cost in India is higher as compared to China. It is only natural that Chinese fireworks will be cheaper,” Selva Rajan explains.
However, Ramamoorthy has a slightly different take on this. He says that Indian crackers are not at all expensive and that there are very few takers for Chinese crackers as most of them turn out to be duds. “We sell in the wholesale market, a small pack (10 pieces) of rocket sticks for Rs 20 and a large one for Rs 48. How is that expensiveIJ Now, many factories have switched to machines reducing dependence on manual labour. Even tube-making and insertion of the wire in the bomb is now done with the help of machines. This will automatically increase the number of pieces being made in a day thereby reducing the cost even further,” Ramamoorthy states.
Of course, the end customer in a market in Delhi ends up paying a bomb literally for a bomb. With nothing less than Rs 200 upwards for any firecracker, this is the time to make money. “To begin with there were many shops — around 30 — that used to sell anars, rockets, chakhris etc in Kalkaji market alone. Today, I am the first to set up my shop and we are only three days away from Diwali. The strict Government rules and getting a licence cost money. One has to pay local cops because I am virtually sitting on the road and don’t have a regular shop. I have to cover my cost. So, the price of crackers goes up every year. This means less buyers which means we have to hike the price to make profit. Therefore, Chinese crackers are in demand. They are cheaper. So what if some of them don’t sparkle” asks Dilip, a shopkeeper in Kalkaji market, while setting up his kiosk and placing a couple of buckets of water at the entry. However, when asked what is the amount he has to spend on just putting up a stall, he just tells you that it is a large sum.
Rakesh Moudgill, a wholesaler in ludhiana, is more forthcoming. “First Rs 40,000 have to be given as sales tax, another Rs 40,000 for license etc for a shop. Then there are salaries of five boys — Rs 6,000 each for five days. Next is cost of hiring guards and putting up a tent. The total spend comes to around Rs 1.5 lakh. I work on a five per cent profit margin. It is like saanp-chhachoondar, na nigal saken na nikal saken. “But the market is very down. My buyers are from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. This time there is only 60 per cent sale. last year, it was 20 per cent more. People don’t have the money this year it seems. Also the end-customer is scared of being duped. There are a lot of spurious crackers in the market. They don’t know what to buy and from where. They should look for brands like Cock, Supreme, Jumbo, Standard, A-One etc. They may be expensive but at least they will not be duds. Crackers from Saharanpur (that is what we call it) and China should not be bought. They may be cheap but they don’t sparkle like branded ones do,” Rakesh says.
But why are so many Chinese crackers finding their way into IndiaIJ “The Chinese firework industry is worth $7 billion globally. Some five years back, European countries banned the import of fireworks from China because of the chemicals that they were using in making them. So, China diverted all its attention to India where the crackdown on banned products is very lax,” Selva Rajan opines.
Agrees Pawan Kumar president of the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association. “The firecracker market has seen a 25 per cent decline in sales this year as compared to last year. This is because there are many people involved in the manufacturing of the crackers illegally. Small-scale units spring up a few months before Diwali in jhuggis. The people involved form a major votebank for the politicians. This is also election time — Assembly Elections and General Elections next year. There is no crackdown on these units since they have political backing. local police is also hand-in-glove with them. Obviously, the sales in the organised sector will see a dip,” Kumar says, adding that at present there are 80 shops who have licence but if a check was done more than 8,000 shops are selling firecrackers in the Capital today.
And it this is not enough, the firecrackers coming into the Capital from Uttar Pradesh are useless as most of them are assembled by the unorganised sector and there is no quality control over the material being used in their manufacture. “Since there is no control over this large chunk from UP, they mostly turn out to be duds. The shopkeepers tested the products and they found that none worked. The main market is Sivakasi. If people procure from places other than this town, they are likely to be duped. The fact that such units employ children makes it worse,” Kumar tells you.
One can safely say that factories in Sivakasi have no child labour — there are more than 17 agencies monitoring the firecracker industry in the town — there have been more than 30 inspections by various departments in the last month alone to check that the factories are conforming to the Explosives Act 1884 and Explosives Rules 2008.
“Besides this, the Controller of Explosives also conducts inspections on a regular basis to check if children are employed. So, of course, there are none. But there are many people who have make-shift small unit factories just before Diwali in their homes. Schoolchildren help their parents make bombs and other crackers. They use banned chemicals and of course child labour is involved. This is also eating into our business — about five per cent,” Ramamoorthy states.
So, is there a solution to some of the problems that the industry is facing todayIJ “We hope that at the international level, the Government will take necessary steps to prevent import of illegal raw material and Chinese firecrackers. As for these
small-time, there is be police crackdown in homes in and around Sivakasi considering that the own has the capability of earning Rs 1,500 crore annually if it started exporting crackers,” Ramamoorthy states.
Dos & Don’ts
While buying firecrackers read the formula used to make them. Those marked with Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association are safe. If the firecracker has potassium chloride, don’t buy it. These are unsafe and harmful to the environment
Buy the fireworks from a reliable seller who has a valid license
Ensure that there is an adult present with the children to supervise the firecrackers
Always follow the safety precautions
Use a candle or an agarbatti to light the fireworks
Always keep a bucket of water at hand to extinguish an incipient fire
Never light fireworks while holding them
All dud firecrackers should be disposed off properly
Aerial fireworks like rockets should be lighted where there are no obstructions like trees and wires
Never try to make your own fireworks, never re-light a dud cracker. Wait for 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water
According to the Supreme Court order, firecrackers should not be used between 10 pm and 6 am