A man carrying close to 600kg of banned fireworks was arrested at the Esplanade bus terminus on Saturday, police said.

Mohammad Zeeshan, 23, was found with three big nylon sacks while waiting at the bus terminus near the Calcutta Referee Association, adjacent to Mayo Road, when a police team in plainclothes spotted him.

Sources said Zeeshan initially refused to show what was inside the sacks. When the officers insisted, they found 25 paper cartons containing various banned fireworks, including shells, chocolate bombs, and Kali patka.

“Zeeshan is a resident of Tiljala Road, and he said he was carrying the consignment to Asansol and was waiting to board a bus. He was arrested under specific sections of the Indian Explosives Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Shastra,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

“The firecrackers were seized, and a case was drawn up with the Maidan police station,” said the officer.

The seizure of the banned fireworks came hours after a section of residents from parts of Kasba, Phoolbagan, Behala, Beleghata and Burrabazar complained about illegal bursting of banned firecrackers late on Friday.

Senior officers said this year the vigilance against illegal and banned varieties of firecrackers has been stepped up even further following a notification by Manoj Verma, the police chief of Calcutta.

While outlining the timeframe for bursting green crackers on Monday, the notification spelt out the duties of the officers-in-charge of police stations across all the divisions of the city police covering the city and its suburbs.

“The Officers-in-Charge of the concerned Police Stations should be vigilant so that orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta and West Bengal Pollution Control Board are duly complied with,” the notification, signed by Verma, said.

Sources said the drive against banned firecrackers has been particularly intensified in areas around the southern suburbs, from where they enter the city.

On Thursday, police seized over 1,300kg of banned fireworks from the Garia Dhalai bridge and 36kg of similar fireworks from Bansdroni during special drives.

The drives and seizures meant little for some residents who complained of banned crackers being burst in the city.

“In Kasba, banned firecrackers are being burst intermittently in the afternoon, evening and at night. We have not seen any police team visiting the areas,” said a resident of Rajdanga Main Road.

Senior officers at the police headquarters in Lalbazar said that across Kolkata Police’s 10 divisions covering the city and its suburbs, officers-in-charge of 91 police stations have been instructed to meet Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to enforce restrictions on bursting firecrackers beyond the stipulated time.

The officers visiting housing complexes have been asked to note the contact numbers and names of those who will be the contact persons if complaints reach them, and tell them about the legal implications.