Of Eden, cricket and pollution: On Kohli's birthday, 'Voice of Reason' falls silent, spooked by celebratory crackers

In the choc-a-bloc atmosphere teeming with crowd and billowing smoke of firecrackers, it was understandably difficult for humans to breathe in as the AQI level shot up over 200. The animal, which seemingly suffered from suffocation, died due to a heart attack following the loud sound of firecrackers that were burst on Virat Kohli's birthday on Sunday.

Kolkata: In the bustling din of cricket frenzy and the high-decibel revelry that followed after India's victory over South Africa, the city of joy has lost its 'Voice of Reason,' spooked by noise and air pollution.

The horse of the Kolkata Mounted Police was neither the reason for this chutzpah nor the party to the revelry but became a certain casualty of the mirth in the cricket-crazy city. The hapless creature stood outside Eden Gardens for hours before the loud sound of firecrackers that burst on Virat Kohli's birthday on Sunday took its life.

In the choc-a-bloc atmosphere teeming with crowds and billowing smoke of firecrackers was understandably difficult for even humans to breathe in as the AQI level shot up over 200. The animal, which seemingly suffered from suffocation, died due to a heart attack following the loud sound of firecrackers that were burst on Virat Kohli's birthday on Sunday.

Virat Kohli turned 35 on November 5, coinciding with India's highly anticipated World Cup match against South Africa at Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens. Making this extraordinary day even more special, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) left no stone unturned to celebrate the victory and gift Virat on his birthday. The state's cricket body President Snehasish Ganguly oversaw everthing.

"The CAB ensured the sale of all tickets for the match," a gleeful Ganguly said, pointing to a packed house eager to witness this unique alignment of cricket and celebration.

The cricket body distributed around 70,000 masks bearing King Kohli's face to the fans in attendance. They hope that when the ace batter walks into the stadium, he'll be greeted by a sea of his own faces, each one worn by an ardent supporter.

"We want every fan in the stadium wearing Kohli masks as he walks in. We plan to distribute about 70,000 masks on that day," Ganguly told news agency PTI.

A cake-cutting event for Kohli was held before the game kicked off. Kohli received a special memento from CAB, marking his contribution to cricket and this particular occasion. The Eden Gardens has only seen a similar fanfare way back in November 2013 when Sachin Tendulkar played his 199th Test match over there.

Noise pollution did damage

The bursting of fireworks — about 100 metres from where the horse was standing — and their spread across the sky frightened Chakraborty as he charged towards the parking lot.

Chakraborty despite his best efforts failed to resuscitate the horse but failed. Scores of cricket fans waiting outside the ground saw the horse hurtling towards the parking lot and trying to get out of the way.

Earlier, the scared animal first banged itself into the closed door of a car, fell to the ground, and then got up again in desperation. Several vehicles were damaged before cops, with help from some fans, finally managed to control it. Four other horses of the Kolkata Mounted Police and two police personnel were also seriously injured in the incident. A traffic cop tied him to a tree before other mounted police officers arrived and walked him back to S N Banerjee Road stable, about a km away.

The loud sound of the crackers made the horse restless and he later died, doctors said soon after the horse died. A senior official of Kolkata Police, who did not wish to be named, said, "It is being investigated as to who burst the crackers and whether it is allowed to burst crackers in the area. Necessary action will be taken in this regard."

The horse named Voice of Regence was gifted to the Kolkata Mounted Police from the race course a few months ago. The horse was responsible for managing the crowd at the stadium. According to Lalbazar police sources, firecrackers were bursting from the Maidan area and the terrace of Eden Gardens.

Many crackers were bursting in the stadium parking lot, some fans said. The loud sound and fireworks scared the horse and he started running haywire. The police personnel on duty said the horse suddenly collapsed on the road.

The frightened horse was somehow tamed and brought back to the Kolkata Police Mounted division. Doctors from the Mounted Cell of Kolkata Police came to attend to the horse and gave some medicines. Finally, the horse died late at night.