Chennai, March 22 (BPNS)
The firecracker units of Tamil Nadu are closed down following the call by the Tamilan Amorces and Firecrackers Manufacturers association (TAFMA). The shut down which commenced on Monday will continue indefinitely. The association will also conduct a massive protest march on Friday in Virudhunagar with the participation of more than a lakh people including workers of the units.
TAFMA president, V. Kathalingam while speaking to BPNS said, “ The officials have seized all our finished goods under the pretext of inspection and are treating the firecracker unit owners as criminals. “
He said that even after the units have completed all norms of the licensing agencies, the officials are harassing them with lame charges and making it difficult for them to run the firecracker units.
The TAFMA president said that there are 195 members in their association and 150 have the license of the district licensing authority in the revenue office. The rest have licenses issued by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation in Chennai and Nagpur.
He said that they would continue their protest and demanded relaxation in the use of barium nitrate salt as well as garner permission to manufacture garland crackers.
The leaders of the firecracker units have also decided to hand over the keys of the units to Virudhunagar district collector Meganatha Reddy as a protest on Thursday.
It may be noted that Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu is the firecracker capital of the country with the maximum production of firecrackers. This small town of Viruduhunagar district in Tamil Nadu accounts for more than 70 percent of the firecracker production in the country. The crackers from this town are in demand across the country during Deepavali celebrations as well as all other important celebrations.
Krishnakumar, a businessman from Kozhikode in Kerala while speaking to BPNS said, “We depend mainly on Sivakasi for our Vishu sales of firecrackers and even one day strike by the units will affect our business. We sell for around fifty lakh rupees during this month as part of the Vishu sale with the business peaking during the middle of April when the festival is held.”
