Back with a bang: Chinese crackers make a comeback at Mumbai stalls

Just a year after the Supreme Court banned Chinese crackers, they are back in town. While firework shops steer clear of these noisy and polluting crackers, roadside stalls are not shying away from stocking them. “Who remembers things from yesterday, and we are talking about two years ago. The sutli, rassi and other noisy bombs are very much doing the rounds,” said Kunj Tripathi, a Dadar market vendor, adding customers ask for these even though they are banned. Another vendor on Mohammed Ali Road said the sale of such firecrackers had never stopped. “Many vendors may have stashed it away elsewhere, where they take prospective buyers. These things happen at every second stall here. And customers do not even bat an eyelid before buying any of those. In fact, they are more popular than the regular ones,” said Khwaja M, a vendor. Last week, the Supreme Court had permitted the sale and manufacture of only low-emission 'green' firecrackers countrywide and had also fixed a two-hour time period, from 8pm to 10pm, for fireworks during Diwali and from 11.55pm to 12.30am on New Year's eve. The Central government had opposed a nationwide ban on firecrackers and told the Supreme Court that a regulatory mechanism should be put in place to restrain manufacturers from using polluting raw materials. Environmentalists and health experts said it was time society celebrated festivals responsibly before it is too late. "For just one moment of fun, people are compromising with the health and safety of future generations. It will be much more fatal to our children than for us," said Shivaji Khairnar, a social activist, who conducts vironmental camps.