E-Paper
Supreme Court to hear plea against ban on firecrackers in Bengal
The matter is slated to be heard by a special vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi at 11am
The Supreme Court is on Monday scheduled to hear a plea against a ban on firecrackers in Bengal during the festive season.
The Calcutta high court on Friday imposed a blanket ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers during Kali puja, Chhath puja, Christmas, and New Year eve to check air pollution amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The matter is slated to be heard by a special vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi at 11am.
The Bengal government on October 26 allowed the bursting of green crackers for two hours during Kali puja and Chhath puja and 35 minutes on Christmas and New Year eve.
Also Read: Haryana govt imposes blanket ban on firecrackers in 14 NCR districts
After the high court imposed the ban, Goutom Roy, chairman of the Association of Firecracker Manufacturers, moved the apex court.
“Is it possible to test firecrackers? Can you put a mechanism in place before November 4 (Diwali)? We cannot kill people by following judgments blindly,” the high court said.
The court observed it would be an impossible task for police and law enforcement bodies to inspect firecrackers and the classification under which they were sold.
Recently, a section of Kolkata’s leading doctors, environment experts, medical associations submitted a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee requesting a blanket ban on firecrackers.
The Centre has warned the state about rising Covid-19 cases in Kolkata after the Durga puja. Bengal has been reporting over 900 cases daily over the past few days. On Sunday, 914 new cases were registered across the state.
With cases shooting up, the state government reimposed micro containment zones in districts including Howrah.
