Village Deities’ Jatharas Turn Lacklustre Due to Ban on Fire Crackers
Environmentalists said the ban should be continued as it would protect the environment from air and sound pollution
KAKINADA: The Jatharas of village deities that are prominently held during the summer season have turned lacklustre due to the ban of firecrackers.
Cracker manufacturing units have not been functional after the recent Vetlapalem blasts. If the organising committees of the jatharas from various villages approach these units, they are told to first obtain the permission from the police, fire force etc to do the work.
However, some units are agreeing to make fire crackers but not explosives of loud sounds.
The explosion at the fire cracker unit at Vetlapalem -- in Samalkot mandal of Kakinada district -- claimed 28 lives in February. The authorities cracked down on the manufacturing units and banned sale and blasting of both fire crackers and explosives in erstwhile east and west Godavari districts.
Many jatharas are held during the summer. Heavy- sound explosives used to be a major attraction for the Jatharas. In some villages, two firecracker parties used to blast the explosives in competition mode; and the organisers would announce the winners and distribute prizes, or gifts like gold and other valuables to them.
Teams from Vetlapalem, Komaripalem, Mandapeta, Bikkavole and other villages were competing with each other during the jatharas. For the villagers, crackers with a heavy explosive sound would add to their prestige.
Now, the firecracker manufacturing units have been allowed to produce only general fire crackers that are being used during wedding parties and others.
Village organising committees said that the manufacturing units in Kakinada and East Godavari districts have not come forward to produce crackers for the jatharas. They were instead supplying the fire crackers in West Godavari district.
The district’s firecracker manufacturing units are somehow managing the nod from officials to blast their crackers in the jatharas.
Recently, deities’ jatharas were held at Kanavaram, Pallakadiyam, Eelakolanu, Chakradwarabandham, Thokada, Duppalapudi and other villages. Organising committees have difficulty finding the firecracker units in East Godavari and Kakinada districts. They instead engage the units from West Godavari.
They said, “If the government bans crackers, it should do so with all units.” Environmentalists said the ban should be continued as it would protect the environment from air and sound pollution.
