Telangana: No Diwali cheer? Cracker traders pin hope on D-day for sale boom

HYDERABAD: With just 48 hours to go for Diwali, wholesale cracker traders and retailers are devastated by plummeting sales and have begun counting their losses. Blame it on spiralling prices, apex court ban on toxic cracker ingredients or a widespread green campaign, the traditional cracker market is facing a slump.
"Business is average and we are pinning our hopes on a last-minute spurt in sales," wholesale traders said. Talking to TOI, traders said, they had invested 100-150 crore in crackers and returns have been meagre.

Also, big firecracker manufacturing units like Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu have cut down on production after the Supreme Court banned use of barium nitrate in crackers. At least 20 wholesale traders and another 50 retailers, who are selling nearly 100 cracker varieties, had placed indents two months ahead of Diwali. Now, they are attributing low sales to a spurt in cracker prices.
"School holidays have been announced and we expect sales to pick up from Saturday. Last year, we clocked a mere 70-crore turnover and this year, it may just cross 100 crore," T Praveen Kumar of Crackers Mela told TOI.
Traders also feel the pinch of a hike in daily ground rent by the civic body. "Business is bleak. Now, how can we pay a steep ground rent? In a double whammy, GHMC has also raised the temporary trade licence fee. This apart, political pressure is another hurdle in the business," said Prakash, a retailer, who put up a stall at Mudfort Hockey Ground in Secunderabad Cantonment.
"Cracker sales continue round-the-year with customers placing orders during marriages, birthdays, showrooms inaugurations and company anniversaries, but we depend on Diwali for our earnings," said another trader, Venugopal.