New Delhi. Firecrackers worth about Rs 300 crore were sold on Diwali in New Delhi. According to the estimates of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), this time there was tremendous enthusiasm for the sale of green firecrackers, but due to delayed permission and sudden chaos, the entire system went haywire.
CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said that the stock of most of the traders was exhausted a day before Diwali. Many buyers had to travel to Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Sonipat to buy firecrackers. It is clear from this that the supply in Delhi was much less than the demand.
The Supreme Court had allowed the sale of only CSIR-NEERI certified, QR coded green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. Therefore, whatever sale took place at the licensed shops was in the name of green crackers only. However, it is difficult to get an officially audited breakdown of how much of the Rs 300 crore was certified green and how much was conventional.
According to CTI, the licensed sales took place in the name of green crackers, but boxes labeled 'green', 'eco-friendly' and 'pollution-free' were also found at the ground level. Buyers had no way of testing the product, as PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) has no testing facility in Delhi. This made it difficult to identify which cracker was actually certified green.
This time an increase in sales was recorded compared to last year. Traders said that this year there was about 30 percent more sales as compared to last year. This shows that after the court's permission, there was a lot of enthusiasm among the people to buy firecrackers.
Consumer reaction was mixed. A large number of customers specifically asked for 'green crackers, with QR code', as they knew that was the only legal one. At the same time, traders say that we are traders, not chemists. We buy from NEERI-registered brands and see QR codes on packets, but the common customer does not understand the difference between green and conventional.
Traders saw both trends in consumer behavior simultaneously. As soon as the permission was granted, there was a visible rush for green crackers at the licensed shops. Traders said demand increased immediately after the court order. At the same time, according to a survey, almost half of the families burning firecrackers in Delhi-NCR burnt both green and traditional firecrackers.
CTI concludes that the consumer wanted to buy green, the merchant wanted to sell green, but very short sales time, late licensing, no system of QR verification and delayed permissions vitiated the entire system.
CTI said that if timely permissions and licensing, clear QR verification and adequate stock arrangements are ensured, 100 percent certified green sales are possible next year.