FOR the firecracker manufacturers at Sivakasi, there's little to cheer about this Diwali. If this year's festival of lights is anything to go by, they'll be seeing less and less of Goddess Lakshmi in the years to come. "Diwali accounts for about 70 per cent of our annual sales. And every year, firecracker sales show a 15 per cent increase during Diwali. But this year they are stagnant," says a cracker manufacturer in this town in south Tamil Nadu.
By the looks of it, things can only get worse for this town, which accounts for virtually the entire Rs 450 crore of fire-crackers that are produced in the country each year. The 450-odd manufacturers—mostly in the small-scale sector—in Sivakasi are currently facing a two-pronged attack. To begin with is the recession bugbear that's plaguing most of the industries in the country today. And firecrackers are no exception. But while that may be a temporary phenomena, there is a far greater fear for the town of Sivakasi, which virtually revolves around the fireworks industry. This year, in an attempt to curb noise pollution, West
Bengal has banned certain crackers. In addition, with the Delhi High Court currently hearing a PIL to ban firecrackers, the Delhi government has decided to reduce the number of licenses it grants to dealers. In addition, it has also reduced the stock these dealers can carry. "We are worried that other state governments might follow suit," says a cracker manufacturer.
And if governments act in concert, the impact could be far worse than what it is this year. That's because, barring Delhi, governments in north and west India—which account for 85 per cent of fire cracker sales every year—haven't yet moved in this direction. But even the little government action that has taken place has impacted on the demand for firecrackers. Manufacturers have already reduced the production of the crackers that have been banned in West Bengal. These include bombs and ladis—which account for about 60 per cent of Sivakasi's production. Though there haven't been any layoffs among the 1.5 lakh employees at Sivakasi's cracker manufacturing units, as yet, tomorrow doesn't look too bright.
