Firecrackers will be costlier this Diwali due to Covid-19 pandemic besides other reasons.

With the festival of lights being almost a week away the heat of hike in cracker prices is being felt by hundreds of cracker dealers in steel city.

According to them, the prices of the crackers will be up by almost 20 percent in comparison with the previous years. They have cited rise in fuel price and Covid-19 restrictions as the main reason behind the hike.

Sources familiar with the cracker market also held Covid protocol restrictions responsible for denting the cracker production in Tamil Nadu's Shivakashi, which is the main hub for cracker production of the country.

“Apart from the low production caused by the Covid restrictions, the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel is also another main reason. This is why the crackers are being sold at a 20 percent higher rate in the wholesale market this year, “ said Lochan Mangotia, one of the leading crackers dealers of the steel city while talking to The Telegraph Online.

In Jamshedpur, crackers and other fireworks worth over Rs 10 crores are sold every year during the festival of light. While about 50 percent of the crackers are bought by the retailers from the Ranchi-based crackers dealers -- Trade Friends and Sahu & Sons, another 50 percent are brought by four crackers wholesalers operating here directly from Shivakashi.

About 300 retailers sell firecrackers at different localities of the city on the basis of temporary licenses issued by the district administration.

Bijay Sahu, a key member of the Sahu & Sons' management confirmed about the hike in the prices of firecrackers this year.

“Generally, prices of crackers are raised by five percent every year, but this year there has been a 20 percent hike in the prices of crackers. The main reason behind such price hike is the low production in Shivakashi crackers hub due Covid restrictions and second reason being the unusual hike in the fuel rates,” said Sahu while talking to The Telegraph Online.