Police are seizing banned firecrackers across Kolkata but officers expressed concern that a sizeable amount of illegal crackers would reach the city from parts of South 24-Parganas district.
Calcutta High Court has banned all firecrackers, including green crackers, for the upcoming festive occasions such as Diwali, Kali Puja, Chhath Puja, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Pockets of Nungi, Champahati and Maheshtala in South 24-Parganas, the district adjoining Kolkata in the south, have been among the most thriving manufacturing hubs of firecrackers.
According to various estimates, more than 3,000 families are directly engaged in making firecrackers.
On Sunday, several manufacturers of illegal firecrackers in Nungi and Maheshtala told this newspaper that all varieties of firecrackers were available with them.
“All types of firecrackers are available. We are located just beside the meat shop at Nungi bazar,” said Atanu Mondal, a firecracker manufacturer.
“If you come, be prepared to shell out more than last year. The prices of all raw materials have gone up by Rs 100 a kg because of the rise in fuel prices.”
Most of the manufacturers said they would sell firecrackers throughout the night till Kali Puja.
Police checks?
“We will place the consignment in the boot of the car and cover it properly. The rest is your luck,” said a seller who has a stall on Daulatpur Road in Maheshtala.
“From which part of Kolkata will you be coming? It's like a lottery. Local police won’t be a problem. We can’t comment about police checks in Kolkata.”
Officers of the Diamond Harbour police district said they had launched special drives to ensure banned firecrackers were neither manufactured nor transported.
“We are continuously carrying out raids across Budge Budge and Maheshtala. Our aim is to stop production of these items. The dispersal will stop automatically,” said Avijit Banerjee, superintendent of police, Diamond Harbour police district.
“Our focus is mainly on parts of Nungi in Budge Budge and Maheshtala.”
In Kolkata, police commissioner Soumen Mitra met his officers on Saturday to discuss ways to enforce the ban. Each division has decided to set up special reserve teams for naka checks.
Six officers from each police station will be tasked with implementing the court order on the night of Kali Puja and Diwali.
Deputy and assistant commissioners of police will monitor the enforcement in each zone in the city.
“The checks have begun and they are yielding results. Over 3,000kg of prohibited firecrackers have been seized. We are concerned about the manufacturers in adjoining districts,” said an officer at Lalbazar.