This year, Kolkata Police is taking a new approach to curb the menace of banned firecrackers during Kali Puja and Diwali.
Now, children will be schooled to understand the harmful effects of prohibited firecrackers through love and care. Earlier, police officers entering most homes found that it was mainly children who were bursting noisy firecrackers.
Following that experience, Lalbazar now wants to keep children away from noisy firecrackers by explaining and persuading them. To raise awareness among children and adolescents, it has been decided to organize housing complex-based workshops with the help of the Pollution Control Board. Housing complexes are where the dominance of banned noisy firecrackers is mostly seen every year.
Police sources reported last year that in a housing complex in Kasba, a child had demanded chocolate bombs from his father. Giving in to his son's request, the father had even bought those banned firecrackers for his son on Kali Puja night.
While bursting that firecracker, a large part of the palm of the right hand of that third-grade student got burned. That same night, a 14-year-old girl from New Alipore was also injured while bursting banned noisy firecrackers. Environmentalists say that banned noisy firecrackers not only harm the environment. They also bring darkness into many lives. Last year, 7 children and adolescents were injured while bursting firecrackers in Kolkata, according to environmentalists.
The administration is also planning to organize workshops for children in housing complexes this year. In those workshops, to be held in collaboration with the Pollution Control Board, children will be explained which firecrackers are banned and what dangers they might pose if burst. Along with that, they will also be told which firecrackers can be burst and what precautions should be taken while bursting firecrackers to avoid problems.
Notably, in many cases, firecrackers lead to vision problems for young children. They also cause hearing and blood circulation issues – these topics will be presented to them through documentaries. Parents will also be requested to participate in the workshops so that they become aware of their responsibilities.
A police officer states, "There is surveillance, but creating awareness is the biggest task – if it can be explained properly, change will come without showing fear." Environmentalist Subhash Datta says, "Noisy firecrackers are not just unnecessary noise, at the end of the day it affects people's comfort and health."
It is harmful to animals, birds and the environment. The administration should not only conduct surveillance. The administration itself has to take the initiative so that the general public can become the main carriers of change.' Environmentalists believe that it is important to increase surveillance so that banned noisy firecrackers cannot enter the city, and at the same time, there is a need for publicity about what types of firecrackers can be burst.
