DIWALI: SPARE A THOUGHT FOR CHILDREN OF SIVAKASI
One
of the first things that we would be looking in a yearly calendar is the day
diwali would be celebrated. The indians living in india would be itching to celebrate
while the indians living abroad would make sure their indian holiday plans are
in sync with diwali time. Joy derived from triumph of good over evil is the
hallmark of diwali. However, there are certain sections of people who need to
be remembered, the same people who are the catalyst for making your diwali as
colourful as you want to be.
Every year, 90 per cent of the crackers for diwali are made from a
small place called sivakasi in south india. This is the capital of the
fireworks industry in india and one of the leading centers across the world.
After lui yang, the chinese city which is leader in the world production of
crackers, sivakasi is the next hub for global fireworks industries. This is
something that we should be proud about, however, this empire has been built on
a model of extreme low wages and high casualty rates. According to the tamil
nadu fireworks and amorces manufacturers association (tnfama), 237 lives have
been lost over the last 12 years in fireworks manufacturing plants. In september
this year, 39 people lost their lives in a fire at om shakti fireworks in
sivakasi due to lack of adherence to safety norms and regulations in the town.
The flouting of safety norms is a norm rather than an aberration in the
fireworks industry especially amidst the unorganized and small companies
operating across the sector. Even though there has been widespread condemnation
by civil society over the state of affairs in sivakasi, year after year you see
a similar situation unfolding. While accidents could happen in any city which
produces firecrackers, it rarely happens with the sheer consistency and
magnitude of sivakasi in recent times. Besides the issue of safety, the issue
of child labour has plagued the industry for long.
Lets come to terms with this fact; most of the crackers that you
are bursting today have had involvement of child labour at some level or the
other. Though this is alarming, it is not surprising considering the magnitude
of child labour in the fireworks industry across the country. Child labour is
regrettably rampant as much in many other industries but the exploitation of
children to make crackers that are dangerous is simply unacceptable. According
to a un study published in the mid 1990's there were 30,000 people employed in
the match industry and 3,000 people employed in the fireworks industry in
sivakasi; all in between the age of 6-14. Some estimates suggest that the daily
wage for these workers is less than 150 rupees a day; an abysmal reality that
makes it almost on par with the minimum wage for workers in the fireworks
industry which has been set at rs 99.98 per day. Besides the economics, the
question is why should the children be doing what they are doing? Shouldn't
they be taken care of by the society and the state? What happened to the self
acclaimed goal of education to all? All of these questions point to a greater
role needed to be played by both the state and the society at large.
There has to be a systematic response from the government in terms
of legislation that tightens the safety norms and action on the ground with more
investment in safety monitoring systems. A report from the bbc states that
petroleum and explosives safety organisation (peso) had just 4 officers
overseeing over 1,000 companies and factories in sivakasi over the last year.
Is this good enough? There has to be an increase in manpower in monitoring
mechanisms and enhanced law and order which cracks down vehemently on the
firecracker owners who are flouting rules. Though there have been raids on
companies flouting the law, the issue requires more investment and action.
Legislation such as the child labour (prohibition and regulation) act of 1986
could be revamped to discourage children from working in family owned
businesses etc. In addition, there has to be a sustained effort to educate the
public, especially the people in the rural areas, on the impact of this on the
children's future in the years to come.
Society needs to stand up and address these concerns. I am not
suggesting we boycott crackers but why not contribute to the upliftment of
communities in the sivakasi belt in the form of public private partnership? Why
not work on evolving the best practices that the world's leading fireworks
manufacturing city lui yang has? Why not try and provide education tools to
these young kids who are sweltering in the heat with their lives on the line?
Why not just think about all that we could do to mobilize non governmental
resources for this cause? Why not start thinking about all this during an
auspicious day such as diwali?
