Kolkata, Nov 2 (PTI) The air quality index (AQI) in Kolkata was in the 'poor' category on Saturday following Diwali celebrations, a West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) official said.


AQI in terms of PM 2.5 was 288 in Ballygunge, 210 in Jadavpur, 211 in Rabindra Bharati University and 219 in Bidhannagar at 9 am, all classified as 'poor', the official told PTI.


AQI was 195 at Fort William, 183 at Rabindra Sarobar and 179 at Victoria Memorial.


At 10 pm on Friday, 'very poor' AQI of 333 was recorded at Rabindra Bharati air monitoring station and 196 at Ballygunge, while the average AQI was 200 in the city, barring some green pockets such as Rabindra Sarobar where it was 91.


On Friday morning, AQI was 173 in Ballygunge and it hovered around 166 in Jadavpur, Beleghata and Sinthi, 129 at Rabindra Sarobar, 115 at Fort William, 124 at Victoria Memorial.


AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.


"Our guidelines allowing only the bursting of green fireworks and clampdown on the sale of clandestinely made illegal firecrackers in districts such as South 24 Parganas helped a bit to arrest the AQI from crossing 300," the official said.


WBPCB chairman Kalyan Rudra said though air pollution was lesser this year than previous years, people should be more responsible to combat the demon of air and sound pollution.


Kali Puja and Diwali were celebrated in West Bengal on Thursday and Friday respectively, with people bursting firecrackers.


Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said the firecrackers were burst rampantly on Thursday and Friday nights from 9 pm to midnight in several areas, including Dhakuria, Jadavpur, Ballygunge, Chetla, Beleghata and Sinthi.


He stressed the need for regular police patrolling in areas prone to excessive firecracker bursting, including Jadavpur, Tollygunge, Kasba, Behala, Beleghata, Entally, Chitpur, Cossipore, Dumdum, and Lake Town.


Another green activist Naba Dutta of Sabuj Manch said decibel limit violation must also be properly monitored. PTI SUS ACD


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