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Ahead of the Diwali festival, crackers are being manufactured actively in the Sivakasi area of Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu. Manufacturers are introducing a variety of new crackers to attract children this Diwali season.
There are crackers based on the jungle themes, like crackers packed in lion, wolf, and tiger theme boxes. Firecrackers themed around food items, such as pizza and watermelon, also look very attractive. Along with these, there are several new varieties of crackers based on cartoons, games. music, etc., which are being introduced to attract children of all ages. Speaking to ANI, a firecracker seller, Usha Nandini, said, "Every year, new varieties of fireworks are produced in Sivakasi. This year, fireworks shaped like children's favourite foods and popular cartoon characters have been made for kids... Everyone is buying fireworks for children, and this year's products are selling very well...". Earlier, over 200 firecracker factories that had remained shut for around nine days in the month of July in Virudhunagar district, due to the ongoing inspections in the wake of a series of firecracker factory explosions, were reopened from July 23 and resumed firecracker production activities, considering the risk of license cancellation if factories remain closed. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had recently taken suo motu action and ordered an immediate inspection of all firecracker factories in the district. Following this, 15 inspection teams were formed, and inspections began on July 14. From that day onwards, over 200 factories operating in Sivakasi, Vembakottai, and the surrounding areas were shut down for inspection. During the inspections, if any violations were found, the factory licenses were temporarily suspended. Fearing that this could impact the production of firecrackers for Diwali, many factories had voluntarily ceased operations. Meanwhile, during a court hearing on July 22 regarding another firecracker factory case, the Southern Bench of the NGT was informed by the district administration that many firecracker factory owners were not cooperating with the inspection process. Following this, the NGT had ordered that factories that do not cooperate should be shut down. (ANI)
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