KOCHI: It is rightly called the festival of lights, with diyas lighting the entrance to houses and colourful crackers illuminating the night sky. However, the sparkle of Diwali festivities in the state was low-key with people abandoning big celebrations following the devastating flood and the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court on fireworks.
"We are happy to see Kerala celebrate a green and safe Diwali," said deputy chief controller of Explosives (Kerala and Lakshadweep) R Venugopal. "Not a single accident was reported in the state and the sale of crackers was really low."
According to him, people in the state celebrated with sparklers and flowerpots which don't create noise pollution. "The Supreme Court emphasised the need to use green crackers and we in turn informed firecracker dealers about the need to reduce sales. District police chiefs and the district magistrates were briefed about the Supreme Court order and the authorities initiated steps to avoid the use of harmful crackers. We think the recent flood was also a reason for the reduced use of crackers," he said.
Kerala State Pollution Control Board chairman K Sajeevan said data on noise and air pollution during the Diwali days is being compiled. "Indications are celebrations were less widespread this year," he said.Not surprisingly, it has been a disappointing Diwali for firecracker manufacturers in Paravur and Cherai which are already reeling under the huge losses incurred in the flood. Many units are yet to start production.
"We started manufacturing crackers for this year from May onwards, but all the stocks were destroyed in the flood," said Baiju, the owner of Babu Fireworks unit at Paravur. "We incurred a loss of `30 lakh. My father who was shattered by the devastation died recently. We are in a debt trap and I have had to get the licence changed to my name to restart the unit. We brought some crackers from Sivakasi for our regular customers, but the sales were not encouraging."
Other firecracker manufacturersl ikeMonappas, Chandran and Burma Fireworks were hit. "All our stocks were destroyed in the flood. We incurred loss stock to market for the festival," said Burma Fireworks owner Ramakrishnan.