Sivakasi ready with green crackers

This Diwali will see green crackers taking centre-stage with the country's fireworks hub here rolling out the ecofriendly varieties which have reduced emission of harmful chemicals and low sound in line with the Supreme Court order.

After a gloomy 2018 in the wake of the apex court banning the conventional crackers on pollution grounds, the industry which provides livelihood to eight lakh people in and around this arid town, over 550 km from Chennai, is hopeful of meeting the demand for green crackers in the coming season.

The changeover to green crackers after extensive experiments marks revival of the industry which has over 1,000 manufacturing units around Sivakasi and used to clock an annual turnover of over Rs 6,000 crore.

According to Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association (TNFAMA), the apex body of the industry in the state, labourers had been trained in batches to produce green crackers and there would be no problem in meeting the market demand for Diwali season -- the festival of lights falls on October 27.

"The manufacture of fireworks was held up for a period of about four months (this year) due to the Supreme Court order banning conventional crackers in 2018... Then the Central and the Tamil Nadu governments helped us in skill training for manufacturing green crackers with 30 per cent less emission," TNFAMA President P Ganesan said.

The changeover to green crackers marks revival of the industry which used to clock an annual turnover of over Rs 6,000 crore