- Sunday, March 09, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Every year, they take immense risks to ensure that others can enjoy to the hilt during Diwali, the festival of light and sound. Sivakasi in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu is known for its fireworks industry which supplies them to make people’s Diwali celebrations successful.
But those who work in those industries do so at the risk of losing their lives any moment but they can’t help much despite knowing the danger.
While Sivakasi accounts for almost two-third of India’s firecracker industry, it also remains a tragic tinderbox since explosions in factories have resulted in several deaths and injuries there over the years.
The Supreme Court’s ban on the use of barium in firecrackers last year and fear of factory accidents has seen a dip in production of firecrackers and that has left the manufacturers in Sivakasi worried. The workers are eagerly hoping that the business, despite the dangers, does not take a blow since their families depend on the earnings from it.
Fifty-six-year-old Kasthuri, who works in one of the firecracker-making units in Sivakasi, has been engaged in the business since she can remember, India Today reported, adding that she even lost two members of her family while making wick at home.
“Back then we used to make the wick at home, but later, with stringent rules in place, we were not given materials. We had to come and work in the factory,” she told the publication.
“I have a daughter and three grandchildren to support. If I don’t work and get this salary my family will suffer,” she said, making it clear that there is no alternative to fall back on.
Things are no different for Vijayalakshmi, 37. She returned to her home in Sivakasi after completing Class 12 and since then, she has worked in the firecracker units.
Lakshmi, who works in the industry along with her husband, told India Today, “Both my husband and I work in cracker factories. Once we leave in the morning, there is fear, and when we return home in the evening and see each other, we know that we have survived one more day. There are risks in this industry, but this is all that we know. Cracker making is an acquired skill. Imagine learning a different skill and then trying to start a livelihood. For our children’s future, we have to continue our work here and we want the trade also to flourish.”
Forty-year-old Karupusamy has been in the hazardous profession for two decades and does the work with fear. “There is fear, but we know nothing other than this. When we hear of accidents it is worrying, but to ensure my family’s survival and my childrens’ education we have to go ahead this way,” Karupusamy, who earns Rs 400-450 (£4.33-£4.87) for eight hours of labour daily, said.
Safety of labourers in the firecracker industry has come under the scanner after repeated accidents in the units that have killed several people. A number of units have also been shut down because of lack of safety norms.
But people continue to work in the risky business and it has been the lifeline for nearly seven lakh (0.7 million) families.
The ban on barium saw more than 1.5 lakh (0.15 million) people losing employment, the India Today report added.
“The garland cracker is an important item and it has been banned. Garland crackers are fully handmade and when we are not able to produce them, workers lose their jobs. Close to 40 per cent of workers in a factory were engaged in this work,” V Raja Chandrasekaran, president, Federation of Tamil Nadu Fireworks Traders, was quoted as saying.
Mathan Deivendran, co-owner of Lima fireworks, said production has reduced due to labour shortage and workers are going to other industries due to uncertainty in the firecracker industry.
The risk is huge but as they say, the show must go on.
