Cuttack, Oct. 21: Police will strictly enforce the ban on bursting of crackers in silence zones and beyond the 10pm deadline in the city.

“We have sought assistance of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to depute six experts for strict enforcement of the Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000,” deputy commissioner of police, Cuttack, Sanjeev Arora told The Telegraph today.

The Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000, prohibit use of firecrackers except between 6am and 10pm. Use of firecrackers at any time in silence zones is prohibited.

According to the rules, silence zones are within 100 metres of hospitals, courts, educational institutions and religious places.

“We have divided the city into six zones. The six experts from the OSPCB are expected to report tomorrow evening and be a part of the joint drives with the police till completion of the Diwali festival for strict implementation of the rules,” Arora said. The joint drives in various parts of the city has been planned to confiscate the dangerous and hazardous sound-emitting firecrackers and Chinese-made crackers that generate noise that crossed the prescribed limits and did not have their chemical composition and date of manufacturing clearly displayed on the packages. The SPCB experts are expected to measure air and noise pollution levels in the city before and after Diwali.

“Bursting of crackers is prohibited from 10pm to 6am and no bursting of firecrackers shall take place in the silence zones. Violators will be penalised under provisions of the Odisha Firecrackers and Loudspeaker Act, 1958. All inspectors in charge of police stations in the city have been directed accordingly,” the DCP said.

Satyajit Roy, a resident of Bidanasi, said: “Very little has been done by the authorities to create awareness among the people in the city about the restriction on bursting of crackers between 10pm and 6am and silence zones.”