Sunny skies spark cracker sales

October 22, 2014 12:00 am | Updated May 24, 2016 03:10 pm IST - CHENNAI:

Customers flock to Island Grounds, which houses over 115 dealers

After a few days of heavy rain in the city, business finally looked up for firework dealers at Island Grounds on Tuesday. From the teenaged to the elderly, customers thronged the outlets in large numbers to purchase crackers.

On Tuesday afternoon, nearly 100 cars lined the roadside from Munroe Statue to Island Grounds, where over 115 fireworks dealers have set up stalls. Over 20 unlicensed hawkers have also set up shops on the footpath outside the Grounds to sell low-cost crackers. Fireworks with innovative names such as ‘golden sparklers’, ‘Kargil bullet’, ‘surveyor rockets’, ‘screaming bats’, ‘roman candles’, ‘jumping frog’, and ‘break dance’ drew large crowds.

“We cancelled some stocks because of rains. We have managed only 25 per cent of the usual business,” said K.A.T. Balu Mudaliar, secretary of the Greater Chennai Fireworks Dealers Welfare Association.

The incessant rains since Friday had not only dampened business for the roadside vendors, but also for stall owners at Island Grounds. “Due to the rains I could not set up my stall earlier. Otherwise, I would have made some profit,” said C.S. Ekavalli, an elderly roadside vendor who has been selling crackers since she was 16.

The crackers are priced between Rs. 77 for a pack of hydrogen bombs to Rs. 4,500 for a box of shots. Though the stocks are less compared to previous years, a large number of purchases have been made. “On Monday, a customer brought crackers for Rs. 95,000. Most of them are opting for the shots,” Mr. Mudaliar added.

R.B.L. Kumar, a resident of Pudupet, said, “The price seems to be high compared to previous years.”

Meanwhile, the 115-hectare IIT-Campus this year will celebrate a smoke- and noise-free Deepavali, thanks to the efforts of the dean of students and hostelites. This will ensure the 300 spotted deer and 35-plus blackbucks found on the campus are not disturbed.

Over the next few years the institution intends to celebrate a green Deepavali, said a staff member, adding they had decided to avoid crackers to ensure environment friendly celebrations and to discourage child labour in the fireworks industry.

Fire services on alert

On Wednesday, over 800 personnel of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) will be stationed across the city at 34 strategic points with fire-fighting equipment and tenders. Residents can call ‘101’ or ‘102’ for immediate assistance in case of a fire accident during the festivities.

S. Vijayasekar, joint director, TNFRS, said that teams were on standby from Tuesday morning at important bus stops, market areas and hutments in order to respond to calls from early Wednesday. “Quick-response teams with jeep tenders and mist extinguishers mounted on motorcycles are posted in different parts to reduce the response time and swiftly reach any accident spot,” he added.

Teams of firemen, led by station fire officers and other senior officials, have been stationed at locations near Srinivasapuram, Nocchikuppam, Nesapakkam, Royapuram and the Tambaram market area. Teams will also be mobile throughout the city.

(With additional reporting by P. Oppili and Petlee Peter)

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.