BERHAMPUR: Crackers worth `70 lakh were seized after raids in Nalabanta village on the outskirts of Aska town in Ganjam district on Saturday. Considered the Sivakasi of South Odisha, almost every household is involved in manufacturing fire crackers.Owing to the ban on firecrackers imposed by the state government this year due to the pandemic, a team led by Aska IIC Raghavendra Gundal along with other officials and two platoons of armed police conducted raids in the village and seized the crackers.
Crackers, manufactured in the village are used in weddings, rallies and other functions. But Diwali is when the business is at its peak. It is estimated that transactions worth `1.5 crore every year are done by the villagers, who started manufacturing fireworks under the patronage of King of Dharakote before independence.
Nalabanta is known for its hugely popular ‘Aska Chakra’, a cracker made of palm leaves which spins like a ‘chakra’, rises high like a rocket and explodes mid-air. The seized items including bombs, mercury torch, sulphur powder, charcoal, etc were brought to Aska police station in eight mini trucks. Three persons-Laba Behera, Jitu Pradhan and Ranjan Pradhan were arrested in this connection but 12 others managed to flee.
Every year, people from across the State throng the village to buy crackers. Despite the fact that at least 25 villagers including women and children have died in blasts while manufacturing crackers in the last three decades in the village, the villagers are undeterred.