A few hours at a police station and a fine of Rs 50 were all police could impose on citizens who were caught bursting banned firecrackers on Diwali last year.

At least 15 cases had been registered last Diwali — from Shyampukur in north to Maheshtala in south — where people were caught violating the firecracker norms in highrise buildings and housing complexes. But in the absence of a stringent law, no further action could be taken against them, sources in the police and pollution control board said.

This year, with the added fear of increasing comorbidity factors in young and the elderly that make them vulnerable to Covid-19, green activists and healthcare professionals feel the need for stricter rules.

All that government agencies have so far done is leave the matter to the good sense of the people. In times of a pandemic, not just the banned crackers but all crackers pose a serious health risk. In such a situation, whether the collective conscience of people can be relied on is a question haunting health and environment professionals.

Last year, complaints against highrise buildings, neighbourhoods and housing complexes were reported at Shyampukur, Belghoria, Uttarpara, Lake Town, Golabari and Maheshtala. The police had detained at least 15 people for illegal possession and bursting of banned firecrackers.

In none of the cases, the detained persons could be held back at the police stations for more than two or three hours, sources said. Pollution control board officials said they had received dozens of complaints where no specific cases could be started in the absence of evidence.

Such offenders are either booked for petty cases under the Calcutta police suburban act and fined Rs 50 or under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with disobedience of a government order that attracts a fine of Rs 200. More serious charges can be pressed only if the offence of bursting banned crackers is clubbed with other offences that are cognisable under law, police said.

According to environmentalist Subhas Datta, the existing laws are inadequate to curb the bursting of firecrackers. “We have to run around so much to create awareness because our laws are weak,” Datta said.

He called for steps similar to the ones taken in Rajasthan to strengthen the arms of the enforcement agencies in Bengal.

The Rajasthan government has not only banned the sale of firecrackers in the wake of the pandemic, but also introduced a fine of Rs 10,000 that shopkeepers found selling any type of firecrackers will have to pay. Another fine, of Rs 2,000, has been announced, which anyone found in possession of firecrackers will have to pay.

“The air pollution level is higher from October to March, compared with the rest of the year. Firecracker fumes will only aggravate the condition of the people with heart and bronchial issues. The best way to curb this problem is to quarantine the illegal firecracker manufacturing units,” Datta added.

The state government on Tuesday had announced Kali Puja guidelines about the pandal and immersion processions but have not issued any specific instructions about firecrackers. Instead, the state had made an appeal to the conscience of the citizens to make this Diwali and Kali Puja firecracker free.

“It will help us to execute a complete ban on firecrackers if a stringent order is passed,” said an officer in Bengal police.