With the sale of firecrackers not picking up as expected, the mood of firecracker sellers at Sadar Bazaar looks sombre a week before Diwali.
Sitting in front of their shops in Asia’s biggest wholesale market, they are wondering about the reasons of the less than expected business ahead of one of the biggest festivals in the country.
“This Diwali we are expecting 50 per cent less sale of crackers compared to the last year. You can see that during peak hours how easily I am talking to you, which would have been difficult last year,” says Mukesh, a firecracker trader.
Due to attractive prices and a wide variety of firecrackers available in the market, Sadar Bazaar has traditionally been a big attraction for buyers.
“Despite being difficult to reach due to the congested streets, people come here from all over the city to buy crackers in bulk as the prices are half of what they get in other places,” says Rajesh, a customer.
But firecrackers are not top priority for customers anymore. Due to various reasons, people are avoiding bursting crackers these days. Environmental concern is one of the biggest reasons.
“People have become very environment conscious these days. Because of the awareness being generated through advertisements and initiatives taken by the government and NGOs, people are not as enthusiastic about bursting crackers anymore,” says Anita, a customer at Sadar Bazaar.
“We have come here to buy some phuljhari only. We will avoid loud crackers altogether,” Anita adds.
Noise against the use of firecrackers was always in the horizon, but the pitch got shriller on October 28, 2015 when in response to a public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court by parents of three children aged between six and 14 months, to ban firecrackers in Delhi, the apex court – although it rejected the PIL – expressed its unhappiness over the lack of efforts by the government on creating anti-cracker awareness among people.
The court also directed the Centre and state governments to educate people about the ill-effects of crackers. Taking a cue from the apex court’s observation, the Delhi government started a campaign against firecrackers in November.
According to shopkeepers and traders at Sadar Bazaar, without the involvement of children, Diwali can’t be good for business.
“Children are the ones who burst crackers the most. If they are not interested in firecrackers anymore, I don’t think parents would buy crackers for themselves also,” says Sunil, another trader at Sadar Bazaar.
The PIL filed by the fathers on behalf of the three infants had stressed on their right to be brought up in a pollution-free environment and pleaded that government agencies be restrained from issuing licence for sale of crackers in the capital.
“We have given 114 licences in north district and 80 alone in Sadar Bazaar. We give licences to sell firecrackers only to those shopkeepers who fulfill the criteria being fixed by the Supreme Court, which includes availability of fire extinguishers, no inflammable object in the vicinity of the place where crackers are placed, an NOC certificate from the fire department, no household dwelling nearby, and a six-metre-wide road outside the shop. But Sadar Bazaar is exempted from having a six-metre-wide road outside the shops due to its unique location,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.
Although the Supreme Court declined to ban firecrackers in Delhi, the central government had imposed a ban on the import of Chinese firecrackers last year due to their non-compliance with the Indian standard of safety measures plus banning them is expected to give a boost to local firecracker manufacturers.
Chinese firecrackers
“Selling or possessing Chinese crackers is not allowed here. We have raided a few compounds and warehouses and arrested people with the banned crackers. We are keeping a tab on traders and sellers of crackers to not allow Chinese crackers enter the market,” Verma adds.
Despite the strict vigil, Chinese crackers could be seen being sold by a few unlicensed sellers on the footpaths of Sadar Bazaar.
“I have been selling them (Chinese crackers) for the past two days, and will sell it till Diwali. I never saw a policeman coming here. We get them from sellers in the market. Customers come here especially asking for them as there are better varieties available in Chinese crackers, and they are 30-40 per cent cheaper than their Indian counterparts. Children love them,” says a footpath vendor selling firecrackers who didn’t want to be named.
Although Chinese crackers are still being sold illegally in the market, the number is not significant. Due to the ban on Chinese crackers and its strict implementation – minor aberrations notwithstanding – the amount of sale has no doubt shrunk drastically compared to last year.
Chinese crackers are one of the main reasons behind the rise in pollution in the city every year.
Although pollution is caused by approved crackers also, Chinese crackers are considered more harmful as they don’t adhere to the standards of pollution levels set by the Indian government. Due to the ban on Chinese crackers, the level of pollution is expected to go down compared to last year.
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