Sivakasi (Tamil Nadu), Oct 12 : The Firecracker units in Tamil Nadu''s Sivakasi town, the hub of fireworks industry in the country have created different variants of dazzling fireworks for the forthcoming festival ''Diwali''.

"This year we have introduced new firecrackers for youngsters and elders. One of our new firecracker is ''Blinkers'' that when lit goes up towards the sky and puts up multi-hued light display. We have over 500 varieties of crackers available. Our first priority is safety and after that quality," said GP Sampath, a firecracker maker.

Firecrackers have traditionally been an important part of "Diwali". Millions of rupees worth crackers are burnt on that day across the country. As to make most of the festival demand, firecracker units have come up with different type of firecrackers.

"This year we have come up with 24 varieties of firecrackers for children as well as elders like ''Colour 10'' that displays colour after bursting and ''Money Spinner'' that spins like a wheel and flashes 24 times," said Anand Kumar, a firecracker unit owner.

Sivakasi is the capital of India''s firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories, big and small, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output.

An estimated 200,000 people are employed in this unregulated cottage industry, which has an annual turnover of about 100 million dollars. (ANI)