Kolkata Police has intensified neighbourhood-level patrolling and public announcements, urging residents to refrain from bursting banned firecrackers following reports of loud explosions in different parts of the city over the past week.Announcements could be heard from a patrol van making the rounds of SN Banerjee Road, Smith Lane and Taltala Lane on Thursday evening. In central Kolkata, officers from the Burrabazar Police Station conducted similar announcements in Banstalla Street, Kanulal Lane, Burtolla Street and Cotton Street. “We received calls from residents of Smith Lane, off SN Banerjee Road, that some youngsters were bursting loud firecrackers days ahead of Kali Puja. The govt rule says green firecrackers can only be burst within a stipulated period only on Kali Puja-Diwali,” said an officer on the patrolling team.Residents of Kankurgachhi also complained against loud firecrackers being burst over the past few days. “This has been happening for the past few days. We called the police station, after which officers came on Thursday evening and urged people not to burst firecrackers,” said a resident, Sabyasachi Ghosh.The complaints come amid a continuing police crackdown on the supply of prohibited fireworks from Champahati and Nungi. Despite surveillance and seizures, banned varieties have been finding their way into the city.
