An association of fireworks manufacturers and traders in Bengal wrote to chief secretary Manoj Pant on Tuesday, seeking the state’s intervention to prevent illegal trade of banned crackers and fake green crackers across Bengal.

They said that this practice was hampering the business of licensed cracker traders and causing revenue losses for the government.

“We have discovered that a group of dishonest traders are distributing banned and fake fireworks across the state to make money. In some cases, they are using fake QR codes of green crackers, impacting the business of legal traders,” said Babla Roy, chairman of the Sara Bangla Atasbaji Unnayan Samiti, an association of firecracker makers and traders.

Roy alleged that unscrupulous cracker traders had made consumers in the districts an easy target.

“They are supplying fake and illegal firecrackers in several districts. People in semi-rural and rural areas are not savvy enough to check QR codes before buying. These traders are also responsible for the government’s revenue loss,” he added.

In the email to chief secretary Pant, the association chairman requested the government increase vigilance in areas like Nungi and Champahati, hubs of firecracker units in North 24-Parganas. The association also claimed that fake and polluting firecrackers were being manufactured in parts of East Midnapore and near Calcutta.

At present, Bengal has 232 licensed units producing green crackers. With demand soaring during Kali Puja and Diwali, many larger players also source fireworks from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, also known as a major firework-producing cluster in India.

The letter said they were facing an “uphill battle” in bringing safe fireworks from licensed units. They had no way to curb “duplicates” in the market, yet were getting flak for it.

Every year, the association organises Baji Bazar (fireworks markets) in Calcutta and districts to sell authentic green crackers according to Supreme Court guidelines. Last year, only 52 such markets were set up across the state, including one at the Shahid Minar ground in Calcutta. This year, 102 fireworks markets were opened across Bengal, including 42 in north Bengal.

The association expects a business of ₹12,000 crore this Diwali, up from ₹8,000 crore last year.

In Bengal, the sale of any firecracker other than green is restricted, and the upper noise limit for non-light-emitting fireworks is 125 decibels.

Bengal has seen major explosions at illegal cracker hubs in recent years. In 2023, at least 20 people were killed in blasts at unauthorised cracker units in East Midnapore’s Egra and North 24-Parganas’ Duttapukur.

This time, as the festive season approached, the state government instructed the police to increase vigil and seize banned and illegal fireworks statewide. From October 1 to 28, Hooghly rural police seized around 1,830kg of illegal fireworks and arrested 13 people. Diamond Harbour police seized 300kg of such fireworks and arrested 20 people.

A source in the state police admitted that many traders were found selling illegal and banned fireworks under the guise of green crackers.

“We are campaigning in areas like Nungi and Champahati, urging cracker-makers to produce only green crackers. Cops in these areas have been asked to keep vigil on firework clusters,” said a police officer.