City residents, exhausted by the deafening noise of firecrackers throughout Monday, had hoped Tuesday morning would bring some relief. They were mistaken. The relentless noise continued well into the early hours of Wednesday, disturbing sleep and peace across Calcutta.

The elderly struggled to rest, and pets were left anxious, with nowhere to hide. Calls to police helplines were futile, many alleged. But it wasn’t just crackers causing the chaos.

In Kasba, less than a kilometre from Acropolis Mall, a musical event blared until 4.15am, forcing residents to endure windows shaking from the bass of giant speakers. “As the night wore on, the noise grew louder. Around 2am, only a handful were dancing, but the noise was relentless,” said a resident who made four calls to police between 1.30 and 2.20am. He alleged no action was taken.

Deputy commissioner of the south suburban division of Kolkata Police, Bidisha Kalita, told Metro: “Two musical programmes were held. We visited both. The organisers apologised and cited the festivities. They were let off with a warning. As far as crackers go, we conducted several raids. A huge volume of fireworks was seized. But it’s very difficult to track violations in every neighbourhood.”

Salt Lake was reported as particularly bad. A resident of EE Block near Karunamoyee, who shares her home with an Indian dog, had plywood installed on her glass windows to protect against firecracker noise. Despite this, her dog remained restless, pacing for a safe spot that didn’t exist.

“Monday was dreadful, but expected. The scale was larger than usual. Tuesday was worse and unexpected — crackers started late afternoon, peaked after 8pm, and went on well past midnight,” she said. A call to police yielded no relief; the only response was “Dekhchi” from the man who took down her details.

Deputy commissioner of the Bidhannagar division, Aneesh Sarkar, told Metro: “I can’t comment on individual cases, but we conducted regular raids. Around 360kg of crackers and fireworks were seized, and 11 people arrested in the past few days. Bursting crackers on Diwali has a cultural aspect as well. Enforcement alone is not enough. A lot of awareness is needed to prevent the use of crackers.”

Across neighbourhoods, the story was the same. A Jadavpur resident reported deafening crackers echoing till 2am on Wednesday.

“Even today? Blasts after blasts? What’s going on? My dog is going bonkers!” posted Arijit Dutta, managing director of Priya Cinema, from his home in Deshapriya Park on Tuesday evening.

A Behala resident in his 80s stayed awake through Tuesday night. His nephew said: “There are two Kali pujas nearby competing in noise. Every time one burst two crackers, the other responded with four.”

A man who lives behind Keoratala crematorium, where there are several pujas, said there was no respite: “There was a cracker almost every three minutes, with the worst from 9pm to 1am.”

A Beleghata resident, returning from Dum Dum around 10.30pm on Tuesday, said: “From the moment I left Dum Dum, crackers went off non-stop. Coming home at 11.15pm, it was no different.”

A 2023 Calcutta High Court order permits green firecrackers only during a two-hour window on Diwali night: from 8pm to 10pm. That was on Monday. The flagrant violations have made a mockery of the law.

Naba Datta, secretary of green platform Sabuj Mancha, said: “The day after Diwali hasn’t been this noisy in at least a decade. Next year, we are planning to tour the city after Diwali to track violations.”

A state pollution control board official claimed they received only 11 complaints on Tuesday, from areas including Kasba, Jadavpur, and Lake Town. Residents would find the figure suspicious, given the widespread disturbance.

On Tuesday, Kolkata Police arrested 43 people for using firecrackers and detained 273 for disorderly conduct.