City vendors see lack of spark in sale of firecrackers

THANE: The Diwali festival is just around the corner and shops across the city have already started selling diyas, lanterns and rangoli. However, the sale of firecrackers in the city has gone down this season. One of the reasons for this drop could be the awareness drives being carried out by NGOs and the media regarding the ill-effects of crackers.

Adults as well as children have refrained from buying fireworks as it leads to noise and air pollution.

"We were not in favour of bursting crackers during Diwali. But our 12-year-old son used to insist on buying at least a few so that he could play with his friends. However, he recently started helping out at an animal NGO and realised how the noise affects animals. So this year, he refused to buy any crackers and even convinced his friends to refrain from doing so. He has restricted the fireworks shopping to sparklers," said Ashwini Pathak, a Vrindavan resident.

Vendors have complained that the sale of fireworks hasn't picked up yet. "The sale of crackers has dropped. We can't understand whether it is because less people are using them or because more stalls are yet to be set up. Whatever the reason, we hope the sales pick up or a lot of our stock will gather dust," said Sanjay Ahuja, a vendor from Kopri.

Meanwhile, many housing societies here are spreading this awareness through notices as well as on WhatsApp groups to ensure that this Diwali is celebrated in a eco-friendly way.