8th September 2015

- The Hindu

Ban sale of Chinese fireworks, says Anbumani

Pattali Makkal Katchi leader and Member of Parliament Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Centre to ban the import and sale of Chinese fireworks in the country. The imports have been posing a major threat to the Rs. 6,000 crore Indian fireworks industry.

In a letter to Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, he said that in the last six years more than 600 containers of Chinese fireworks were falsely classified and imported as toys.

These containers are targeted at Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi, which are major markets for Indian players.

The import of Chinese crackers has led to nearly 35 per cent of Indian fireworks remaining unsold last year causing a huge loss to the industry that employs more than five lakh persons directly.

“The country’s cracker hub Sivakasi, is home to about 90 per cent of the fireworks production in the country. The town now faces a huge threat of getting swamped by machine made Chinese firecrackers,” he said in his letter, a copy of which was released to the press.

The imports have been posing a major threat to the Rs. 6,000 crore Indian fireworks industry