<p> ‘Great Splendor’, ‘Cheers’, ‘Mumbai by Night’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Platinum Rain’! Do you think these are names of liquors, which decorate the bar or duty-free shops? No, they are not!<br /><br /></p>.<p>These are the latest Diwali arrivals of crackers for purchase online for this year, which is expected give a moral boost to the crisis-ridden fireworks industry in Sivakasi and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu, the country’s nerve centre of the business.<br /><br />Of late, the cracker industry is losing its local light and sound in the country due to an influx of Chinese fireworks which reportedly contain highly combustible chemicals, which perhaps emit instant sparks.<br /><br />As the latest online cracker stores is proving to be a hit among the consumers especially among youngsters, many firecracker retailers, based in the state and in the capital Chennai, have already received huge purchase orders from various cities in the country including neighbouring Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. <br /><br />Apart from Sivakasi and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Pudukottai, Dharmapuri, Tuticorin and Salem too make up India’s epicentre of cracker manufacturers producing 90 per cent of the country’s requirement, every year. They sell 80 per cent of the total production to other states. <br /><br />Improvised courier<br /><br />Since transport of crackers through postal and courier services is strictly prohibited, online sellers use their own vehicles to deliver the products on time (depending upon the destinations).<br /><br />“Last year, cracker sales were about Rs 5,000 crore, and this time, it is expected to increase by more than 10 per cent due to the online initiative,” A Asaithambi, senior advisory committee member, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA), told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />Giving justification to his claim, Asaithambi asserted that the intrusion of Chinese fireworks will not be there in online cracker sales. According to him, in the recent past, cracker producers in Tamil Nadu have come up with a unique idea by setting up online stores to avoid the troubles in setting up a physical shop, since it requires several stringent norms and formalities. <br /><br />Stating that online purchase is just like any other eCommerce website, Asaithambi said that purchase of crackers online does not involve any risk, since the delivery is done by the retailers. <br /><br />“It is best to purchase crackers online instead of going to shops, since there are rains during Diwali,” V Jagannathan, a cracker consumer, said.<br /><br />“Now we deliver the products to Tamil Nadu and other southern states. We use our own vehicles to dispatch the products in time ,” said an official from peacockcrackers.com, a leading online cracker trader in the country. <br /><br />Claiming that the sales of crackers through online was about Rs 250 crore last year, he said, “We expect more than 20 per cent rise in sales this Diwali season.” <br /><br />Every day, the website logs more than 8,000 people visits.<br />Today, the cracker industry in both Sivakasi and Virudhunagar is estimated to be worth around Rs 2,500 crore. <br /></p>
<p> ‘Great Splendor’, ‘Cheers’, ‘Mumbai by Night’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Platinum Rain’! Do you think these are names of liquors, which decorate the bar or duty-free shops? No, they are not!<br /><br /></p>.<p>These are the latest Diwali arrivals of crackers for purchase online for this year, which is expected give a moral boost to the crisis-ridden fireworks industry in Sivakasi and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu, the country’s nerve centre of the business.<br /><br />Of late, the cracker industry is losing its local light and sound in the country due to an influx of Chinese fireworks which reportedly contain highly combustible chemicals, which perhaps emit instant sparks.<br /><br />As the latest online cracker stores is proving to be a hit among the consumers especially among youngsters, many firecracker retailers, based in the state and in the capital Chennai, have already received huge purchase orders from various cities in the country including neighbouring Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. <br /><br />Apart from Sivakasi and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Pudukottai, Dharmapuri, Tuticorin and Salem too make up India’s epicentre of cracker manufacturers producing 90 per cent of the country’s requirement, every year. They sell 80 per cent of the total production to other states. <br /><br />Improvised courier<br /><br />Since transport of crackers through postal and courier services is strictly prohibited, online sellers use their own vehicles to deliver the products on time (depending upon the destinations).<br /><br />“Last year, cracker sales were about Rs 5,000 crore, and this time, it is expected to increase by more than 10 per cent due to the online initiative,” A Asaithambi, senior advisory committee member, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA), told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />Giving justification to his claim, Asaithambi asserted that the intrusion of Chinese fireworks will not be there in online cracker sales. According to him, in the recent past, cracker producers in Tamil Nadu have come up with a unique idea by setting up online stores to avoid the troubles in setting up a physical shop, since it requires several stringent norms and formalities. <br /><br />Stating that online purchase is just like any other eCommerce website, Asaithambi said that purchase of crackers online does not involve any risk, since the delivery is done by the retailers. <br /><br />“It is best to purchase crackers online instead of going to shops, since there are rains during Diwali,” V Jagannathan, a cracker consumer, said.<br /><br />“Now we deliver the products to Tamil Nadu and other southern states. We use our own vehicles to dispatch the products in time ,” said an official from peacockcrackers.com, a leading online cracker trader in the country. <br /><br />Claiming that the sales of crackers through online was about Rs 250 crore last year, he said, “We expect more than 20 per cent rise in sales this Diwali season.” <br /><br />Every day, the website logs more than 8,000 people visits.<br />Today, the cracker industry in both Sivakasi and Virudhunagar is estimated to be worth around Rs 2,500 crore. <br /></p>
