TIRUCHY: With the Deepavali just two days away, crackers traders in Tiruchy expect good business this festival season compared to last year, thanks to an overall market recovery.
Assistant District Officer of Fire and Rescue Services Department S Leo Joseph said they received around 300 applications from various traders. As per the norms, permission has been given for 289 cracker outlets in Tiruchy district this year, he said.
The increase in sales is attributed to the recovery of businesses from the economic downturn in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cracker sales have picked up since Saturday, with business being somewhat brisk compared to last year, said J Prasanna, proprietor of Jayapal Cracker Wholesale Traders in Gandhi Market.
"This year, firecracker sales have increased by 15 to 20 per cent compared to the sales targets set four days before Deepavali last year. If there is no rain this trend may continue. Golden Dawn, Lemon Tree, Crackling Star, Colour Fantasy, Top Tucker and Super Drone are the new arrivals. There is no rise in price. Even the prices of a few items like flower pots, ground chakra and electric sparklers are a little lower," Prasanna added.
Chinthamani and Amaravathi Cooperative departments have set up four cracker outlets in Tiruchy. A senior official from the Chinthamani cooperative department told TNIE that they have procured a significantly larger volume of crackers compared to last year.
"We used to procure crackers for Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh. However, as sales decreased post the pandemic, procurement from Sivakasi was only of minimum volume. Last year we procured crackers for Rs 16.43 lakh. This year it has increased to Rs 18 lakh," the official said.