Bengal bans noisy firecrackers this Diwali

Denizens of the eastern metropolis will enjoy a quieter Diwali this year thanks to a ban on 89 varieties of firecrackers by the state pollution control board.

In a bid to control noise pollution due to bursting of firecrackers, the board has prohibited the use of 89 types of firecrackers which emit sound more than 90 decibels, said Binay K. Dutta, chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

"Everyone should be alert about the use of illegal firecrackers in their neighbourhoods as all of us should show to the rest of the country that we can abide by the law," Dutta said at an event here Wednesday.

In addition, the clutch of unmanned aerial vehicles that were deployed during Durga puja for crowd mapping will be put to use to monitor the bursting of banned firecrackers on the roofs of high rise buildings during Diwali, according to Ashok Kumar Biswas, deputy commissioner of police, Reserve Force.

Other measures include restricting sale of noisy firecrackers in pockets across the city and confining them to four major areas.