Chennai: With Deepavali just a few days away, the plea to the State government to approach the Supreme Court seeking a review of its direction has become louder.
Contending that stipulating time for bursting crackers would only spoil the spirit of the people celebrating the Festival of Lights, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said rather than specifying time for firing crackers, the verdict should have revolved around the type of crackers that ought to be used during Diwali. The government could permit only those type of crackers that don’t pollute the environment and also encourage the manufacturers to produce such fireworks.
“I wonder how they thought it possible to prevent pollution if people were made to fire crackers merely for two hours on that day. The court should review its directive as the present judgment would adversely affect several lakhs of workers employed in the fireworks industry,” Mr. Thirumavalavan pleaded.
Modifying its order fixing 8 pm to 10 pm as slot for bursting firecrackers on Diwali and other festivals, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the State government was at liberty to change the timings but the duration will not exceed two hours a day.
The court permitted the firing of crackers for an hour in the morning from 4 am and another hour between 9 pm and 10 pm for southern States.
Gift pack with 75 types
Gift pack containing several varieties of crackers with varying price tags will hit the market this Deepavai .The mega gift box containing about 75 types of crackers including sparklers and rockets, is priced Rs 1,500.
“Their numbers will decrease depending upon the price. The lowest gift box has been priced at Rs 200 and it can go up to Rs 1,500,” a dealer in Sivakasi said.
