KOLKATA/SILIGURI: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday set the tone for celebrating Kali Puja when she insisted on the use of only green crackers and asked everyone to follow all pollution-related guidelines issued by the Supreme Court. On a day a petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court asking for a blanket ban on firecrackers, Banerjee — on the sidelines of an administrative meeting in north Bengal — said that “all necessary guidelines to stop pollution during Kali Puja have to be adhered to”.
Back in Kolkata, city police held multiple meetings with Kali Puja organizers at the divisional level on Tuesday. “A few matters are pending at the high court. We have told the organizers that they have to follow the court orders verbatim as and when they are issued. We have also reminded them to continue with last year’s rules and stop the entry of visitors into pandals. We have repeatedly warned them against crowding near the main barricade,” said a senior officer.
While several organizers said they had approached police to set up stalls away from the main pandal, a final decision will be taken at a later date by Lalbazar. Sources said everything will depend on instructions received from Nabanna and the court. “We do not want to rush things as of now,” said an officer, adding that they planned to shut down a few more bylanes in around the two major puja clusters in the city — Amherst Street and Parnasree — on the evening of Kali Puja to allow better crowd circulation.
Kolkata Police will be deploying at least one civic volunteer at each of the puja pandals on Kali Puja evening and at least two cops at mid-sized pujas. This is over and beyond the deployment that will be made in each division to stop the use of crackers. The final deployment plan that will reach individual police divisions will be drawn “keeping ground conditions in mind”.
“Last year, the court had ordered that no one could enter the pandals and that a distance of 5m has to be maintained. Those officers and volunteers who will be deployed will ensure it. If required, they will seek backup from the local police station,” said an officer at Lalbazar. Additional forces are likely to be kept on standby at each division for specific emergency deployment.
Police have stated that any one found “promoting” the use of illegal firecrackers will be prosecuted. They have sought the help of puja organizers in acting as their eyes and ears and spread the word in the neighbourhoods. The detective department on Tuesday seized around 400kg of banned crackers from a godown at Jorasanko.
