Sivakasi ready with green crackers for Diwali

Chennai, Oct 15: This Diwali will see green crackers taking centre-stage with the country's fireworks hub here rolling out the eco-friendly varieties which have reduced emission of harmful chemicals and low sound in line with the Supreme Court order.

After a gloomy 2018 in the wake of the Supreme Court banning the conventional crackers on pollution grounds, the industry which provides livelihood to eight lakh people in and around this arid town, over 550 km from Chennai, is hopeful of meeting the demand for green crackers in the coming season.

The changeover to green crackers after extensive experiments marks revival of the industry which has over 1,000 manufacturing units around Sivakasi and used to clock an annual turnover of over Rs 6,000 crore.