Only green firecrackers can be burst between 8pm and 10pm on Diwali, according to orders issued by the Supreme Court and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (PCB).
An FAQ published by the PCB says that only firecrackers with a green fireworks logo and a QR code are authentic green crackers. The code can be scanned using the “Green QR” mobile app made by CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute).
Once the code is scanned, the buyer will find certification details of the NEERI and the ingredients of the crackers. The Telegraph gives a low-down
Violations
- Purchase, sale, display or bursting of banned crackers
- Playing loudspeakers producing sound more than 65 decibel at 5m from the source
Punishment
- Spending a night at a police station
- Prosecution under the explosive substances act, leading to a criminal case and a possible jail term of three years
Pandals
Calcutta High Court on Wednesday reiterated that all Kali Puja pandals will be “no-entry zones" for visitors
Police arrangements
- 5,000 cops will be on duty, apart from mobile patrols
- In areas like Shakespeare Sarani, Camac Street, Park Street and Alipore, cops will be posted at highrises
Help at hand
- Emergency helpline: 100
- Lalbazar control room: 22143230
- Howrah police control room: 26415614
- Barrackpore police control room: 9874447929
- Bidhannagar police control room: 23358788
- Traffic control room: 22143644
- Fire: 101
- Ambulance: 102
- Fire brigade control room: 22861570/22521165
- CESC control room: 9831083700/9831079666
- WBSEDCL control room: 8900793503/8900793504
Complaints
- Kolkata police: 9432624365 (WhatsApp), 9874901522
- PCB control room: 23358212, 3913 (5pm to 2pm on Thursday and Friday)
- Sabuj Mancha control room
- Kolkata: 9432209770, 9635912049 (WhatsApp), 9831318265
- Howrah urban: 8910634755
- Howrah rural: 9064570985
- Hooghly: 8016669006, 9883325009
Metro Railway
The carrier will run 215 trains instead of 266. The first trains will leave Dakshineswar and New Garia at 7.30am. The last train will leave Dakshineswar at 9.18pm and Dum Dum at 9.30pm. For devotees headed to Dakshineswar for Kali Puja, the last train will leave New Garia at 10pm.