VIJAYAWADA: Celebrating Diwali this year will turn out to be a costly affair as the prices of firecrackers have risen by an average of 25-30 per cent.The sellers are attributing this to the rise in prices of fuel, raw materials, production costs and labour shortage in Sivakasi, which is the hub of firecracker manufacturing in the South.
In Vijayawada, temporary firecracker stalls have been arranged at Swaraj Maidan, Makineni Basava Punnaiah Stadium in Ajith Singh Nagar and Punnami Ghat in Bhavanipuram. Majority of the denizens who thronged the Punnami Ghat on Tuesday complained about the sharp increase in prices of firecrackers compared to the previous years. However, sellers maintain that price rise has been in tune with previous years. “There are no new varieties this year. The same crackers sold last year are being sold at exorbitant prices. Even shops which claim to sell at wholesale price, are charging heavily,” rued K Venu Gopal Rao, a private employee who purchased crackers worth Rs 5,000 for his family.
Like Venu Gopal, another customer P Nagarjuna was unhappy with the prices too. “The price on some fireworks has gone up by nearly 30 per cent, making them unaffordable,” he said. Sellers maintain that prices have risen only by 10 per cent, which is inevitable. B Malleswara Rao, a wholesaler stated that the price of 1,000 wala, which is in high demand, is hovering above Rs 600 this year. “With just hours left for the festival, even retailers are not coming forward to buy the stocks,” Rao said.
Another shopkeeper KV Babu also purchased stock with the intention of making better sales this year. Retail sales are not up to expectations due to rising prices. Besides the Covid outbreak, Sivakasi has witnessed a series of fires this year, which has affected production, he said. Traders also claimed that the demand for eco-friendly green crackers is increasing. Besides that the demand for sale of firecrackers on online platforms has gained pace with several companies selling their products online. While shopping online public can choose if they want to buy crackers separately or as gift boxes that cost anywhere between Rs 1,250 and Rs 3,950 online, Babaji said.