Officials pull the plug on cracker units over safety, workers face job heat

WORKERS of firecracker units in Sivakasi and nearby areas are caught between a rock and a hard place.

- HARINI M

They either die in blasts because of disregard for safety rules at firecracker units or face near-death experience every day because of crushing poverty due to lack of jobs.

After the death of hundreds of workers in explosions nudged authorities to clamp down on firecracker units, at least 135 factories were forced to shut down in three months in Sivakasi and hundreds more were made to slash production due to poor safety standards.

This has rendered thousands of workers jobless. According to Small Cracker Manufacturers Association president G Vinayagamoorthi, around 25,000 workers have lost jobs due to the suspension of cracker unit licences this year alone.

According to sources, there were nearly 1,100 units in Virudhunagar district and after a recent inspection at 300 units, 136 were asked to close down due to violations. With an average of 150 workers employed in each of these units, about two lakh workers were employed in firecracker manufacturing in the district.

Now, thousands of them are staring at a bleak future.

Though the Deepavali season, when workers are in high demand, is only months away, B Sinnaraja Muniyammal (35), a Melapethilvetti resident and an employee of 20 years, lost her job at a cracker unit as the licence was suspended.

"Around this time last year, I was dong additional shifts manufacturing different kinds of crackers. I had a stable income. But now, we are struggling even to buy vegetables for our everyday meals," she lamented. Muniyammal also said that after the cracker unit was sealed, she approached several other units but there were no vacancies.

Villagers of Mathiyasenai which lost 10 people in a recent blast near Sengamalapatti are struggling to find a job amid constant fear for life due to fire accidents.