Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday, while hearing a petition, ordered a complete ban on usage and sale of all kinds of firecrackers including green crackers during the upcoming festivities – Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhat Puja and Christmas. The order was passed by a division bench comprising justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Aniruddha Roy, aiming to keep a check on air pollution amid the covid pandemic.
The order further notified only wax or oil-based diyas will be permitted to be used, and directed the police to initiate legal action against anyone found violating the ban after having confiscated the crackers. This order thus nullifies a recent notification by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board that allowed the use of ‘green’ fire crackers for two hours – 8-10 pm on Diwali, two hours on Chhat Puja between 6-8 am and 35 minutes on New Year’s Eve.
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The court order strikes down the West Bengal Pollution Control Board’s previous order, and observed that everyone has the right to live and for the larger interest of the public amidst the Covid pandemic, the ban was re-imposed. The court further pointed out that the police do not have any infrastructure to differentiate between firecrackers and green firecrackers, and hence the ban on sale and usage of all firecrackers was required.
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