BENGALURU: The Karnataka government’s decision to allow bursting of green crackers this Diwali may have brought some respite to traders, wholesalers and manufacturers of the fireworks industry, but association heads claim that only 10 per cent of crackers are certified as ‘green’, and a majority of those procured from wholesalers for the retail market could be regular crackers.
It is said that green crackers cause 30% to 35% less emission. The Wholesalers’ Association in Karnataka claims that only about 600 of 1,070 companies in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, the country’s cracker manufacturing hub, have procured licences from CSIR-NEERI and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).
“Though the order was revised, we cannot celebrate as all firecrackers sold in the market have to be green, CSIR-NEERI and PESO-certified. A small-town trader will not know what the certification means. When officers check the products, they will deny him a licence or take action against him for selling a counterfeit one. How will this help us?” questioned Rajendran T, member, Karnataka Wholesale Dealers’ Association.
Terming the government’s last-minute revised order “inconsiderate”, fireworks manufacturers, retailers and traders claim it is just “eyewash” and they would suffer losses anyway.“We might even see traders and wholesalers end their lives. Traders have already pledged gold and raised loans to pay manufacturers. Now, they will have to declare bankruptcy. They can’t procure or manufacture more green crackers at the last minute,” said AIFFA.
This year, as every year, wholesalers and retailers purchased firecrackers from Sivakasi manufacturers (at 18 per cent GST). Naveen Gupta, a retailer on Avenue Road, said the government is playing with the lives of people. “I picked up a large quantity, as the government never mentioned that only green crackers will be allowed. We can neither repay loans nor reinvest,” said Naveen.
Karnataka accounts for about 40 per cent of the country’s fireworks sales. V Raja Chandrashekaran, president of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Fireworks Traders, said Karnataka has a minimum of 50,000 traders, and Benglauru has around 2,000 traders. “It is difficult for traders to change their orders now. Green crackers are expensive and only a few varieties have got permission. Not all those in the market with a ‘green label’ are actually green,” he said.
Experts Speak
Epidemiologists and health experts say there should have been a blanket ban on crackers in the state. “This partial ban will not help in any way. There is pollution even with green crackers. There might be many fake products, claiming to be green crackers, which could be hazardous for Covid-19 patients and those with respiratory illnesses,” said a senior epidemiologist, on condition of anonymity.
what are green crackers?
Small, shell-sized low-emission crackers developed by scientists at CSIR-NEERI, as per Supreme Court
order in 2017
Raw materials used to make green crackers are less harmful, contain mainly barium nitrate and additives which reduce dust
Have no banned chemicals such as lithium, arsenic, barium, lead
Come in two categories: One without barium salt, a chemical considered indispensable for fireworks industry; the other with low quantity of barium