KOLKATA: Nearly 12 days after the Bazi Bazar was held at Vivekananda Park, the ground was finally cleaned on Monday and its iron fences were restored. But, the ground may need a month or so to get back its green cover. However, the custodian of the ground, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), andnot the Bazi Bazar organiser Burrabazar Fireworks Dealers’ Association, engaged labourers to clean the ground.Vivekananda Park became the venue of the city’s biggest fireworks fair after the Army initially denied the organiser permission to hold the fair at Shahid Minar ground. The organisers desperately looked for an alternative site and finally got clearance for Vivekananda Park in south Kolkata. But KMDA asked them to restore the ground once the fair was over.The move to organise Bazi Bazar at Vivekananda Park was criticised by morning walkers and environmentalists as it’s part of the eco-sensitive Rabindra Sarobar zone, known as the lungs of south Kolkata. The fair left the ground littered with plastic bags, empty cartons, packaging materials and rusted nails.“The organiser was supposed to restore the ground to the state in which it was handed over to them. But they were buying time. Those who practise cricket and football faced tough times. So, we engaged labourers and cleaned the ground. We will now ask the organiser to foot the bill. We are also planning to penalise them,” said KMDA officer.Burrabazar Fireworks Dealers’ Association general secretary Chittaranjan Maity said, “Because of successive festivals, we did not find labourers to clean the ground. This is why we sought time from KMDA. But before we could do that, KMDA engaged labourers to clean it. For entry and exit of buyers, we removed a portion of the iron railing. We have already restored it.”“It was a horrible experience for us. The ground was very dirty and littered with plastic bottles. We came but could not play as nails were strewn all over the ground,” said Bishan Dutta, a student of Hazra Law College , who practise here regularly. Amartya Basu, a resident of Dover Lane, was happy to hear that the ground was restored to its original state.Arinjit Chaudhury, a budding cricketer, is happy that they can now “dive for a ball without getting hurt”.

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