The fireworks industry of Sivakasi is one of the most concentrated industrial clusters in India. Hundreds of licensed manufacturers and thousands of small unlicensed workshops operate in and around the town, producing crackers, sparklers, rockets, and display fireworks that are sold across India for Diwali, weddings, and festivals. The town produces an estimated 90% of India's fireworks output.
The industry is not set up for casual visitors — the factories are not tourist attractions and most operate in restricted areas for obvious safety reasons. But driving or cycling the roads around Sivakasi gives a strong sense of the scale of the enterprise: warehouses stacked with red boxes, trucks loaded with product, and the distinctive smell of chemicals and sulphur that hangs over the area. The roadside shops selling raw fireworks wholesale are particularly striking.
The safety record of the industry has been poor historically. Major explosions have killed workers on several occasions, and child labour was widespread until relatively recently. Visiting with any awareness of these realities gives the experience a different dimension from the festive associations most people have with fireworks.