Chinese crackers on sale with ‘Make in India’ stamp

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 18

Despite ban on the import of Chinese firecrackers, their sale in markets across the city is going on unabated.

Packets of some Chinese crackers were found to be bearing the stamp ‘Made in India’. They carry no batch number, manufacturing date or MRP.

China’s friction-sensitive pop-pops are believed to be highly dangerous because of their substandard composition and packaging.

Chinese firecrackers are known to have potassium chlorate, a dangerous chemical that can ignite or explode.

As many campaigns are going on against Chinese products and firecrackers on the social media, people are still unaware of this new tactic by which they are being cheated.

After issuing ban orders, no action has been initiated in the district so far by the district administration to keep a check on the sale of Chinese firecrackers.

Shopkeepers have not displayed the Chinese products openly but these are being sold on demand.

Pleading anonymity, a shopkeeper said the Chinese firecrackers were very cheap and more profitable as compared to indigenous.

“Shopkeepers made a lot of investment when they ordered Chinese goods in bulk. They had no choice but to fudge the labels when the boycott call started hitting sales,” said a local store owner.

The government conducts raids in every district to test the quality of sweets ahead of festival season but no such facility or drive is initiated to check the authenticity of firecrackers.