Calcutta was spared a toxic Kali Puja and Diwali on account of high wind velocity and warm temperatures that led to an improvement in the Air Quality Index. But the city was not spared the ravages of the noise demon. The bursting of firecrackers well past the official deadline, in shameful defiance of strictures from the court and the authorities, was largely responsible for the sound pollution. The West Bengal government had put in place several restrictions ahead of the festival. These included permission for green firecrackers in adherence to the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling, capping the permissible noise limit to 125 decibels at 4 metres from the source, and fixing a window for bursting crackers between 8 pm to 10 pm. But these regulations were largely honoured in the breach. Not only was the two-hour window flouted but data from the state pollution control board revealed that crackers whose sound peaked over 110 decibels were burst in several pockets of the city, often at sites adjacent to residential buildings and hospitals that are designated silent zones. A part of the blame must be shared by the authorities. A revised notification from the SPCBs had raised the permitted noise level of crackers from 90 decibels to 125 decibels this year. Such benevolence defies logic. Enforcement of the stipulated rules by the authorities remained equally dismal in several parts of Calcutta that witnessed noisy revelry deep into the night. So much so that this year’s Diwali, it is being said, has been the noisiest, kindling memories of earlier, unruly decades. Bengal’s districts, where the unchecked sale of illegal firecrackers is not uncommon, fared worse. The fact that the festival of light should not deteriorate into an orgy of sound is something that continues to elude both the public and their minders. It is astonishing that repeated warnings and advisories issued by the law and law-enforcement agencies about the perils of noise pollution continue to go unheeded. This speaks of a culture of civic callousness that is unpardonable.

Clean air and a noise-free environment are fundamental rights and are integral to public health. The authorities must be vigilant throughout the year instead of being proactive around festivals to check transgressions that imperil both. The firecracker industry should also be incentivised in imaginative ways to eliminate the manufacturing of illegal crackers. Raising public awareness, including the roping in of the younger generation to spread the message, though, remains the key in this battle.