Kolkata: The air quality in Kolkata remained 'poor' on Tuesday due to the bursting of firecrackers on Kali Puja the previous night.

Environmentalists alleged that particulate matters hung in the air after firecrackers were burst beyond the permissible hours of 8 pm to 10 pm till midnight across the metropolis, flouting guidelines issued by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) and police.

A WBPCB official said that the air quality index (AQI) was 253 (PM 2.5) at the air monitoring station at Victoria Memorial at 2 pm on Tuesday, higher than 186 on Monday midnight.

At Jadavpur, AQI was at 207 while at Ballygunge, it was 213 on Tuesday, both considerably higher from 159 and 134 respectively, on Monday midnight.

At 8 pm on Monday, AQI was 164 at Victoria Memorial, 117 (Fort Will

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