Sivakasi, a quaint little town in Tamil Nadu, is the biggest home to the fireworks industry. About 80% of India`s fireworks are manufactured here. But also are infamous its various tales of exploitation of labour and health hazards. A price that the people of this town have to pay to light up our Diwali. Zee News ‘Special Correspondent’ Vijay Grover travelled to this hell home to find out the truth and reveal it to you. Life for the children of Sivakasi changed forever in 1922. This was when the first fireworks factory was set up in the town. The population of the city, which was facing hardships making ends meet, jumped at the opportunity provided by the new labour-intensive unit. To the delight of the local population, there was no longer a need to migrate in search of work. Also, as is the norm in large but poor families, children were soon pulled in by parents in these factories to contribute to the family income. This suited their employers also, as they could achieve twin goals: Of keeping labour rates low and nipping union problems in the bud. It was in 1976, that the problem of child labour at Sivakasi made headlines. That too accidentally… a bus carrying child workers to a match-box factory met with an accident and there were several casualties. The Tamil Nadu government constituted a one man committee under Harbans Singh. Oddly, the report of the committee was never made public! Thus, the problem of child labour in Sivakasi continues unabated. The fact is acknowledged by District Collector, Dr K Gopal, “Yes, child labour continues in small and medium scale units not only in Sivakasi but in other areas like Sathur too.“
The question then is, so what is the government doing about it?