Cracker shops pop up to add sparkle to Diwali

Coimbatore: It’s that time of the year when fireworks light up the skies. And as the residents gear up for the festival of lights, firecracker shops have popped up across the district, offering a variety of sparklers for a real blast.
Announcing their arrival, the shops have put up king-sized banners outside to woo the customers. While the price of firecrackers has shot up by 30% to 40% compared to the previous year, the same is unlikely to completely stop the residents from buying them to pep up the Diwali festivities. The shop owners attributed the hike in price to the increase in raw material prices.
Most of the customers who talked to TOI on Friday said the price hike had forced them to cut down on the number of crackers. “I spent 1,000 on the firecrackers for my school-going son. I got only a minimum number of crackers at this price, compared to the previous years,” said Anish Antony, a resident of Sundarapuram.
R Binu, a resident of Chinnavedampatty, said he was shocked to see the tariff for firecrackers. “The price hike will be a burden on the economically poor families.”
Requesting anonymity, a cracker shop owner from Ramanathapuram confirmed that the cracker prices had gone up by at least 40% this year. According to him, manufacturers haven’t introduced any new variety of crackers this time.
“We are expecting a brisk sale this year, compared to the previous two years, when the Covid-19 pandemic limited the festivities. In the past, a bagful of crackers could be purchased for a meagre 1,500 or 2,000. The situation is very different today and the customers are not happy with the same,” he said.
V Chinnasamy, president, Coimbatore District Crackers Association, said only a small number of applicants were able to obtain a licence for setting up cracker shops in the district. “Only those who could influence big political parties could get the nod to set up outlets.”
He said the sale would pick up on Saturday. Chinnasamy also raised concerns over several customers placing online orders for crackers by forgoing the usual practice of buying them directly from the outlets.
An official source, meanwhile, said 460 cracker shops have mushroomed across the district ahead of the festival of lights.