KOLKATA: Almost all
housing societies across the city adhered to the high court ban on
firecrackers on
Kali Puja and
Diwali and celebrated the quietest Diwali ever. However, while some residents’ welfare associations vowed to continue the
noiseless celebrations in future, others demanded government intervention to prepare environment-friendly crackers and not ban them.
“We spent the best Diwali this year. It has been a true celebration of lights and complete slaying of the sound demon. At our complex, we even ensured no one lit even a sparkler or a flower pot. I believe this is the way Diwali should be celebrated in future, considering the number of elderly persons in our complex and the health hazards they face because of increased pollution after Diwali,” said Manak Daga, the president of South City Apartment Owners’ Association.
Joy Dasgupta, secretary of New Town’s Ujjwala Apartment, that has shut the access to the roof till Bhai Phonta to prevent any slip up in the implementation of the cracker ban also expressed similar views. “Covid is unlikely to fade anytime soon. Even if the spread of infection eases, it will still have drastic effects on people suffering or recovering from it. For a better society, we should shun all kinds of firecrackers,” said Dasgupta.
However, there were others like Silver Spring resident
Indranil Chowdhury, who called for an environment-friendly celebration with noise-free and pollution-free crackers. Although, he ensured a cracker-free Diwali at the complex, he said, “I am certain that there can be a way to make greener crackers to celebrate the festival. We should not forget that thousands of poor are associated with the business and it has been a tradition to burn crackers on Kali Puja for years,” said Chowdhury.
Some others like Deepak Jaiswal of Merlin
Warden Lake View in Ultadanga — an area known for large-scale cracker ban violations in previous years — said they will continue the vigil at their complex to rein in the violators this year, but pleaded that this should not be a norm for the future. “People respect the decision of the firecracker ban this year because of the
Covid situation. But it would be almost impossible to make people give up crackers in future,” said Jaiswal.