Workers in India’s lucrative firecracker industry say illegal Chinese imports are flooding the market and threatening their jobs as the country prepares for the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, which starts tomorrow. Those who manufacture firecrackers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu fear their decades-old monopoly is being challenged. “Chinese firecracker imports seem to have taken off in the last two years. But this year the problem has reached enormous proportions,” said G Abiruben, president of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association. “We have lost nearly 30 percent of our yearly sales and things do not look good,” he said.
The group says about half a million jobs are at risk and has called for government intervention. – Sapa-AFP