crackers
Kolkata: Not a minute before 8pm, not a minute after 10pm — the state govt has drawn a strict two-hour window for bursting firecrackers on Kali Puja on Nov 8, warning that any violation of the court-mandated deadline will invite legal action, including seizure of illegal fireworks and possible arrests. For Chhath Puja on Nov 15, the permissible window will be between 6am and 8am, he added. Sound-emitting crackers must comply with the prescribed 125-decibel ceiling, while the limit for light-emitting fireworks is 90 decibels. Bursting crackers within 100 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions and other designated silence zones will remain prohibited. Instead, lists of approximately 1,700 approved manufacturers registered with NEERI and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) will be made available online and displayed at designated Bazi Bazaars.
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“The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) will activate its round-the-clock command-and-control centre (CCC) from Nov 7 to 9, working in close coordination with Kolkata, Bidhannagar and Howrah police commissionerates and district police headquarters to detect violations and coordinate enforcement,” said PCB member-secretary Ashok Pratap Singh. Buyers have been advised to verify manufacturers against these lists rather than rely on QR codes, said environment secretary Sumit Gupta. Conventiona l firecrackers will remain banned while releasing sky lanterns without the requisite fire department permission will also attract legal action. The two-hour restriction, prescribed under Supreme Court directives and reinforced by Calcutta High Court, will be strictly enforced. Noise limits will also be monitored. In another significant change, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has discontinued the QR-code-based identification system for green crackers following allegations that unscrupulous manufacturers copied genuine codes to pass off unauthorised products as certified fireworks. Download the TOI App.
Environment and forest minister Manoj Oraon on Friday reiterated: “Only certified green crackers would be permitted during the designated hours.