72 fairs for selling fireworks to be held in Bengal before Diwali

Kolkata: West Bengal will have 72 fairs for selling fireworks in the run-up to Kali Puja and Diwali on October 31, an industry official said on Thursday.

The decision to organise such fairs was taken at a recent meeting attended by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and representatives of the fireworks industry at the state secretariat Nabanna, Sara Bangla Atasbajee Unnayan Samity chairman Babla Roy told PTI.

Last year, 52 such fairs were held across the state.

A committee will be formed in every sub-division to visit the stalls to examine the safety issues and accordingly, the district magistrate will issue approvals, Roy said.

The fireworks with the hallmark of either the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) or the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) will only be sold in such markets, he said.

The sound limit of any fireworks must be within 125 decibels.

A state official said there would be testing centres to check whether the fireworks were made adhering to the prescribed limits by the committees which will also have experts from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).

These temporary markets at Maidan and Tala Park in the city and district towns like Barasat, Malda, Balurghat, Medinipur and Suri will be held a few days ahead of Kali Puja and Diwali.