Dealers disagree over sound violations by firecrackers

The city’s firecrackers’ dealers have contested the findings of a recent sound test conducted by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the Awaaz Foundation, which found several firecrackers violating the permissible sound limit of 125 decibels (dB).

The city’s firecrackers’ dealers have contested the findings of a recent sound test conducted by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the Awaaz Foundation, which found several firecrackers violating the permissible sound limit of 125 decibels (dB).

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“None of the crackers available in the markets this year cross noise limits. If Awaaz Foundation had contacted us, we would have been able to prove it with our equipment,” said Navinchandra Chhadwa, president of the Mumbai and Thane Firework Dealers’ Welfare Association. “The police and Awaaz are in this together.”

Chhadwa added that the crackers left unused for a few months after manufacture are likely to have higher decibel levels. “But we sell only fresh crackers, brought in from Sivakashi in Tamil Nadu.”

In the wholesale markets, The Hindustan Times found only one cracker, the Big Bang bomb, manufactured by Dada Fireworks, which had its decibel level printed on the packet, which read “90-125 dB”.

“It is the responsibility of the cracker companies, not the association, to have noise levels specified on the packet,” said Chhadwa, who also claimed that cracker sales have risen considerably this year.

“People are going in for soundless crackers such as some forms of flower pots and anaars. The new Chinese crackling fountains are also popular,” he said.