KSPCB to work with district officials, police to curb noise pollution caused by firecrackers

Hours after the Karnataka High Court order on firecrackers was passed, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) told its officials at the district level to work with the police and the district authorities to curb the sale of polluting crackers.

While the state government order on Friday gave specific direction to the KSPCB to take measures to curb noise pollution, the high court said the police and KSPCB officials should attend to complaints received by citizens regarding noise pollution rules.

"Strict instructions have been given to Board officials across the state to work with the police and the district officials to ensure that the order of the state government and the directions of the court are carried out," KSPCB Chairman Vijaykumar Gogi told DH.

Sources at a district-level office of KSPCB, however, said complete enforcement of the directions was a herculean task considering the limited number of officials on the ground.

"The government order should have been issued at least a week before. We are four people in the district office. We are entirely dependent on the police for any action on the ground. Ensuring that shops are selling green crackers only is a tough task," the source said.

An official in the government said that the high court order has given a much-needed momentum for pushing green crackers.

"This is the beginning and there will be hiccups, like shops selling polluting crackers. Once we pass this transition period, we can hope for complete enforcement of green crackers in the coming days," he said.