Kochi: With ‘Vishu’ round the corner, the district collector on Tuesday directed for the constitution of special squads at taluk levels to inspect fire cracker outlets and detect violations during the festive period.“The special drive is conducted to prevent stocking of fire crackers beyond stipulated quantity and to ensure that the outlets are adhering to prescribed safety regulations. Attempts will be made to unearth sale of crackers without valid licenses,” Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla said.
The measure is taken amid complaints of cracker shops stocking more quantity than allowed during the season and indulging in sale of banned high-decibel fireworks. Often the fire crackers are stored in bulk quantity in makeshift sheds without taking adequate safety measures. Meanwhile, cost of fire crackers increased by 20 per cent this time around, resulting in less demand.
“The increase in manufacturing and transportation cost has resulted in the price rise. We’re forced to sell the products at marginal profit due to this. There has been a complete ban on Chinese crackers as they use potassium chlorate, a highly unstable and hazardous compound which can ignite or explode spontaneously. Now with the government ban, we have begun promoting the ‘Sivakasi’ brand,” said Prasad R, a wholesale vendor in North Paravur, regarded as the hub of fire cracker manufacturing units in Ernakulam.
