PLAYING WITH FIRE

While the Supreme Court takes steps to protect the environment, the working conditions of the firecracker workers don't seem to be a priority. The risk of explosions and losing lives have made their work akin to...

- ANUSREE PV

AS the sounds of Deepavali crackers fizzle out and the city's lanes are strewn with its remnants, we take a look at the streets of Sivakasi that harbours the stories of firecracker workers. After the Supreme Court announced a nationwide ban on barium salts (green salts) in 2023, the workers continue to use red, yellow, and white salts to manufacture crackers.

The production goes on in the factories, however, the hostile working conditions are not on a progressive tangent, the workers remark. Crammed rooms scattered with a variety of chemicals and crackers, prone to explosions, and workers covered in layers of chloride dust, are still common sights inside these factories.

The stories of schoolchil dren in Sivakasi are testimonies to the ground reality of the lives of firecracker workers; their lives bespeak the pervasive nature of the occupation of fireworks, how it trickles down to every resident in the area. A teacher from Senior Government Higher Secondary School, Thiruthangal, P Vivekanandan, has witnessed the children's battles with their circumstances. In the school, 80% of the students are from families of firecracker workers, and among them, many are orphans. Firecracker work is the mainstay in Sivakasi. This occupation did not spare even children, let alone, adults. There is no official record about the school dropouts, however, he points out that children do lend a helping hand to their parents in the cracker productions. They assist their parents on their holidays and sometimes, even take leave to help them, without the knowledge of the school management.

A harrowing image of a jittery little girl mourning after a long wait for her deceased father has left him with a deep scar and the pain visits like a fierce ghost from the past.