VIRUDHUNAGAR: With Deepavali just days ahead, cracker is back in the limelight. The Supreme Court, on Friday, reiterated its directions banning the use of Barium Salts and manufacturing and selling joined firecrackers. Despite the order, the traders said joined crackers still constitute 40 per cent of the total production and sales. “Whose responsibility it is to find an alternative to Barium Nitrate salts,” they asked in unison.
A trader-cum-manufacturer, who preferred anonymity, said though the Supreme Court entrusted the job of finding an alternative for Barium salts to National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), till now, it has not come up with a solution. “Though they prescribe a reduced amount of barium salts, it is impossible to formulate firecracker composition without barium,” he mentioned.
General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Fireworks Traders’ Association, Elangovan, said after the court order, they started manufacturing products complying with the rules. “We are strictly adhering to NEERI’s formula without fail. Despite the manufacturers cutting short the production, we traders, have stocked them up. The public is in a dilemma whether to buy them or not. Now, we have to store them in a safe place until the products get sold out, for we cannot return them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aasaithambi of Sivakasi Fireworks Manufacturers Association (SIFMA) said the entire industry is in a state of shock and they do not know whether they could restart the manufacturing works even after Deepavali.
Citing SC’s October 31, 2018 order, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA) President Ganesan Panjurajan said companies do not manufacture joined crackers now.
“Some sellers might have stocked the crackers manufactured earlier. They might create an artificial demand so that they could sell them for an exorbitant price,” Panjurajan said.
Use of harmful crackers to invite action
The TN government on Saturday warned the public against bursting firecrackers made with barium salts and serial firecrackers. This comes after the SC had banned these varieties of firecrackers. “Criminal action will be taken against those who violate the SC guidelines,” a release said. The SC verdict on October 29, reiterated the contentions of the verdicts given on firecrackers in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and clarified that there will be no ban on ordinary crackers.