No bail from police station this year if caught with banned crackers

KOLKATA: Just when Bidhannagar police clearly stated that it would invoke IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) to take legal action against those daring to disobey the SC ruling on bursting of crackers, Kolkata Police has decided to invoke an additional section under the firecracker component of the Kolkata Police Act if anyone is found possessing banned crackers.

“In case of use of banned crackers, we will not provide bail from police stations this year. If required, we will produce the offender in court from where they have to seek bail,” said a senior officer of the south division.


Meanwhile, with barely 72 hours left for Kali Puja, Kolkata Police is doing everything in its power to try and implement the Supreme Court ban on firecrackers — including going around neighbourhoods in autos announcing the 8pm-10pm timeframe for bursting crackers, putting up smaller teams at “specific zones” to crack down on banned fireworks and even using road display boards to try and drill the timing into the minds of the citizens.

The urgency is evident from the circular that has ordered the river traffic police to patrol ghats and asked all police stations along Tolly Nullah to form squads to stop illegal crackers from entering the city. The fact that 76kg of banned firecrackers was recovered at the Jhinjhirabazar area bordering Kolkata was a reason enough for cops to believe that the push might have come too late this year.

The unease was palpable in a meeting between West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) official and representatives of highrises in Kolkata. “We will be facing residents’ wrath when we tell them that they can burst crackers only for two hours, and that too, within a fixed timeframe of 8pm-10pm,” said Ramesh Chandra Daga of Natural City of Shymnagar Road. WBPCB ADG Rajesh Kumar tried to instil confidence, saying: “Police are already distributing leaflets and banners to make people aware of the apex court order.”

Policemen from nine Kolkata Police divisions and commissionerates of Howrah, Barrackpore, Chandernagore and Salt Lake, who were present at the meeting, mumbled that they could give it a try. WBPCB threw its weight behind the cops and proposed to sponsor the cost of hiring loudspeakers. Its chairman Kalyan Rudra told cops: “You could organize mobile announcements on microphones. WBPCB would foot the bill, but do adhere to NGT norms on microphone.”

Jayanto Bhattcharya of Genex Valley Welfare Society in Joka had a different dilemma. “For many years now, we have been organizing an open firecracker mela. Is that allowed this year?” The WBPCB chairman replied, “The 54-page SC order does talk about low-emission crackers, but it applies to Delhi NCR for now. We leave it to your good sense whether you want to poison the air for the sake of an activity which is done for sheer fun.”