- The Hindu

Banned products make an appearance in Sivakasi

Till the summer of 2014, Chinese crackers were only heard of in Sivakasi. But in May 2014, the industry was shocked to see Chinese crackers being sold in its very backyard when a team of officials seized a bunch of Chinese firecrackers from a cracker shop in the town.

The town police did due diligence and registered a case, but the fireworks industry was not satisfied. They raised the decibel level on this issue, seeking a CBI probe into the case.

The Centre acted swiftly and took effective steps to curb Chinese crackers being stealthily imported in the guise of toys. In the last two years, the threat seemed to abate. However, the industry was jolted again recently when they found Chinese fireworks being marketed bang in the heart of the fireworks hub of the country — on the streets of Sivakasi.

“We found a representative, also an agent for Sivakasi fireworks for north India, marketing some Chinese crackers in our town,” said K. Mariappan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association. The man from Gwalior had been carrying samples of three different crackers.

Exhibiting the samples, Mr. Mariappan said one of the boxes had the “Made in India” label, intended to mislead the public, though the crackers inside the box were certainly made in China. He wanted the government officials to check the sales of such banned crackers during the festival of light.