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Kolkata, October 22 (IANS) People in Kolkata got no respite from the violation of firecracker rules, due to which the level of noise and air pollution remained above the permissible limits on Wednesday.
Large scale violations of the norms of maintaining sound decibel limit at 40 in quiet areas of the city and 45 in densely populated areas were observed. According to data available till Wednesday morning, the sound decibel range remained between 58 to 75 throughout Tuesday night.
Similarly, air pollution levels were also very high in various parts of the city. The AQI level at Victoria Memorial in the Maidan area, considered the lungs of Kolkata, stood at 259 as of 11 pm on Tuesday, according to air quality index data collected from various monitoring stations in the city.
Some other points in the city where AQI levels reached dangerous levels were Jadavpur and Ballygunge, both in south Kolkata, with 204 and 169 respectively.
According to AQI parameters, pollution levels in both Victoria and Jadavpur were in the “violet” or “very unhealthy” category, where all categories of people are at increased risk of health impacts.
In the case of Ballygunge, the level was in the “red” or “unhealthy” category, where some people may experience health effects, or members of sensitive groups may experience more severe health effects.
Environmentalists believe that although West Bengal has several rules and penal provisions regarding violation of firecracker norms, their implementation at the ground level remains pathetic.
He believes that real action should have been taken before the festive season, and that too against illegal firecracker manufacturers. They also believe that police action during the festive season is mainly limited to confiscating illegal firecrackers. But environmentalists believe that what is necessary is to take timely action against such illegal firecracker manufacturing bases and root out the problem.
–IANS
Source/DPB