People want more bang for their buck: Shopkeepers

Fireworks wholesalers and shopkeepers in Mumbai said more people opt for noisy crackers, instead of the green, low-emission ones during Diwali celebrations.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that people could burst low-emission firecrackers for only two hours on Diwali (from 8 pm to 10 pm) and for 35 minutes on Christmas and the New Year's eve (11.55 pm to 12.30 am). It also said no firecrackers should be burst in the daytime.

"We have options for every firecracker – less noise, more noise, less light, more light, etc. But the most in demand is the rassi bomb (one of the noisiest). We cannot ask them to choose one over the other, or we will lose business," said D Shabbirbhai of K Fidaally & Co., dealers and wholesalers of firecrackers at Mohammed Ali Road.

Another shopkeeper said they cannot dictate terms to the customer. "If everyone buys crackers that don't explode or pollute, they might just as well buy lights and there would be no firecracker industry. These things are available because there is demand from these same people," said Dharmendra Madesiya, a owner of a firecracker shop at Dongri. While the SC refused to enforce a blanket ban on the sale and use of firecrackers across the country, it only allowed licensed holders to sell firecrackers and disallowed e-commerce websites from doing so.

Noise activists have slammed every shopkeeper for promoting noise and air pollution and making a business of it.

Manufacturers had argued that firecrackers were not the sole reason for rising pollution during Diwali, though they were a contributing factors, and for that, an entire industry could not be shut down.