Police step up vigil
With Kali Puja barely 48 hours away, the Kolkata police have stepped up their vigil to ensure that people stick to the rules for bursting firecrackers. Besides sending out bulk SMSs and handing out leaflets, the police have also provided a helpline number to handle any emergency situation during the festival.
In the last few days, a number of persons have been arrested in the city for carrying banned crackers. Last week, the Amherst Street police arrested a van driver in Kesab Chandra Street for carrying eight quintals of ‘chocolate’ bombs. While another quintal of banned firecrackers was recovered by the police in South 24 Parganas, the Cossipore police seized crackers that included among others kalipatkas.
According to Special Joint Commissioner SN Sarkar, more than 8 tonne of banned firecrackers that make noise above 90 decibels have been seized.
“We have banned around 18 firecrackers like O Calcutta, Arabian Nights, Singing Bird and Festivals of India that flout the 90 decibel norm,” Sarkar said.
The police will be keeping a vigil on the streets with 8,000 police personnel in uniform and 2,000 in plain clothes. Besides policemen, there will also be volunteers, traffic wardens, women constables and green police manning the city. The radio flying squad too will be on the streets.
“We are keeping a strict vigil this time to make sure that no one flouts the firecracker norms, especially in multistoried buildings. We have visited Baji Bazar to make sure that no one is selling banned crackers. On Kali Puja if we find anyone flouting the rules, they will be immediately arrested and prosecuted,” Sarkar said. The police have also stepped up security in malls and shopping complexes of the city.