Chennai, Sep 18 (TIWN) Is it going to be a sparkling bright or dark Diwali is the question that is being asked by the fireworks industry for the past couple of years.

With Diwali this year to be celebrated next month - and virtually without any curbs and the Covid pandemic wanes, the question gains more importance.  Production of fireworks in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district, is yet to pick up even as there is just a month to go for the festival of lights, industry officials said.  The Supreme Court had banned the use of barium in 2018 in making firecrackers and it was reconfirmed in 2021, putting the fireworks industry in Sivakasi - the firecrackers hub of the country with around three lakh workers directly employed in around 1,000 organised units there - in a tight spot, they said.  "The case is still pending in the Supreme Court. The court had earlier said the final hearing will be in June 2022. But that has not happened," Sivakasi Fireworks Manufacturers Association (SFMA) Vice President A. Murali told IANS.  "The ban of barium is baseless, imposed without any scientific study being conducted on the possible hazardous impact with regards to the pollution."  "We are being targeted because of the hue and cry of the environmentalists in the name of pollution, although other sectors as well are using barium in various production operations. I should say that we are the weaker opponent and are being made scapegoats," Murali contended.  After the SC had reconfirmed the ban in 2021, many of the stakeholders have impleaded in the case seeking lifting of the ban.  Murali said, barium is one the main oxidisers for most of the fireworks and without it, the simple sparklers cannot be made.