Editorial: Dark days at Sivakasi

The fallout of bursting crackers such as increased pollutants in the air can aggravate the condition of those suffering from COVID, as well as those who have recovered from it, experts have said.

The NGT’s decision didn’t sit well with the Tamil Nadu government as it entails a massive loss for Sivakasi, the firecracker manufacturers hub of India. The livelihoods of as many as eight lakh workers are at stake, as the industry stares at losses upwards of Rs 800 cr. The NGT-led ban prompted Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to say that there was no empirical evidence to demonstrate that bursting crackers would adversely affect COVID patients. EPS even went on to request the administrations of Odisha and Rajasthan to reconsider their cracker ban.

As per historical accounts, fireworks were brought to India as early as the 1400s, from China. During medieval times, pyrotechnics were substantially expensive affairs and could be afforded only by the royalty. Post-Independence, India’s firecracker business shifted from Kolkata to Sivakasi, where the pioneers of the business, Shanmuga Nadar (of Kaliswari Fireworks) and his cousin Ayya Nadar pushed for the use of crackers in celebratory occasions of all kinds, in turn, making what was once an unaffordable spectacle, into an everyman’s commodity.

However, over the years, the narrative of Sivakasi’s successful business model has been beset by issues like employing of child labour and inadequate safety measures in the factories that have led to numerous accidents. More recently, concerns surrounding the depleting air quality, and rise in noise pollution across major metros have inspired impassioned debates among parents and teachers who have made a move to celebrate Deepavali in the absence of fireworks.

None of this is good news to manufacturers in Sivakasi, where the seasonal employment of as many as 10 months culminates in Deepavali. In 2018, a Supreme Court verdict banning the manufacture and sale of high-emission crackers (which comprise about 80% of total production) affected over 1,000 crackers manufacturing units, causing around six lakh direct and indirect workers to lose their jobs. However, they soon recovered and began making green crackers that are 30 pc less polluting than ordinary crackers. The eco-friendly formula was approved by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).

This year, it’s the pandemic that’s dealt a death blow. The ban, by its timing, might be necessary, considering the sorry state of air quality across India, and the number of those affected by COVID. What is questionable is the sudden decision of the government to shut down the functioning of an industry, eight months into the pandemic, without any safety net for its workers and stakeholders. It is impossible to ignore the deep economic connection that the state has with the festival of lights, and unless the government steps in, the ones who work hard to bring light and sparkle to the country will be left in the dark on Deepavali.