kolkata from new town to thakurpukur and kalikapur to kidderpore cracker sellers continued to try and sell now illegal nongreen firecrackers in a clandestine manner at times putting on display candles diyas and even fruits and vegetables and dealing in the banned items under the counter cops too continued their raids and seizures often in plain clothes at new towns action area ii near eco urban village crackers were being sold outside a flower shop and at thakurpukur satyen park a man selling diyas and fairy lights had a cache of sparklers charkis and flower pots in two crates under his temporary shop platform both shops were forced to close and the fireworks seizedin kalikapur and charu market areas a team of cops went around in plainclothes and seized banned crackers from multiple sellers mostly inside neighbourhood lanes away from main thoroughfares while the sellers pleaded helplessness claiming to be selling items at a loss or at cost price cops said with no green crackers in sight their job was made easier we had a large stock of fireworks at home since 2020 and had to make an attempt to sell them we are not criminals when we bought the crackers they were not banned what can we do if they are suddenly prohibited asked a hawker in taratala who was selling sparklers flower pots and torches before cops seized all his itemsthe kolkata police adopted a threepronged strategy since wednesday afternoon to ensure citizens followed the court order as a first step cops attended to the local distress calls as complaints poured in especially close to midnight across kasba tiljala beniapukur cossipore sarsuna and thakurpukur on chhoti diwali in new alipore crackers were continuously burst between 9pm and 10pm earlier local cops had visited block k and made a video of crackers being burst it was as if those bursting crackers were testing our patience they burst one and hid themselves only to burst another as soon as we came back after inquiry said an asi near ballygunge railway stationin the central division across four police stations between brabourne road and girish park cops seized 1258kg of crackers in the past week over 400kg of which was seized on wednesday seizures at girish park ranged between 3kg to 540kg in the past week on wednesday evening there were raids where cops stopped every vehicle at special nakas and checked whether they were carrying firecrackers the police said they checked as many as 2500 vehicles and seized 1856kg of crackers in these raids the police said the seizures mostly consisted of chocolate bombs and dodomas