Diwali orders for Sivakasi firecracker units not enough to lift spirits

Prohibition on use of chemical adds to pain of ban on firecrackers; industry appeals to Supreme Court for relief

Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi, which makes most of the fireworks for India, has had a 30 per cent increase in orders after losing two years to the pandemic but the city’s business isn’t out of the woods yet.

Manufacturers want the government to lift a ban on the use of Barium nitrate and allow firecrackers during Diwali. They said the ban on Barium nitrate, an oxidising agent used in pyrotechnics, had affected the making of firecrackers like phuljhari (sparkler), the rolling chakri (ground spinner) and anar (flowerpot). “Without Barium, the quality of these products are not the same. In addition, this