The festival of light ‘Diwali’ is witnessing battery of shoppers splurging on everything from tech gadgets to jewellery and from sweets to firecrackers.
Even as the traditional markets and shopping malls are choc-a-bloc with Diwali goodies, the makeshift firecrackers shops have cropped up in more than 50 sites earmarked by the Lucknow district administration.
Whilst Diwali festivities are reckoned incomplete without lighting and firecrackers, the Lucknow traders claimed a dip of nearly 20 percent in sales owing to envionment concerns.
Now citizens, especially the youth, demand ‘green crackers’ and low-decibel crackers so that they could also contribute their bit for environment protection.
Green crackers are considered ‘eco-friendly’ since they cause less air and noise pollution compared to traditional firecrackers, which are understandably filled with harmful and toxic chemicals.
“The sale of firecrackers has plummeted nearly 20 percent in recent years following the growing concerns about ecology and pollution among the citizenry,” local firecrackers trader Satish said.
Another wholesale firecrackers trader in Kakori area Aman Gupta said traditional firecrackers have slowly given way to green and eco-friendly varieties.