BHUBANESWAR/BENGALURU: The
Odisha government
on Tuesday banned the sale and use of firecrackers from November 10-30, worried over the impact it may have on
Covid-19 patients
. Karnataka, meanwhile, is mulling a similar prohibition on the lines of Rajasthan government’s
firecracker
ban on Sunday.
Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar told TOI: “The final decision (on a ban) will be taken after discussions with the CM.”
Odisha chief secretary AK Tripathy issued the direction to prohibit sale and use of firecrackers. “Any person found violating this order shall be punished under the provision of
the Disaster Management Act
, 2005 and other relevant laws,” the order said.
Rajasthan has banned crackers this year following concerns over their impact on the health of Covid patients while Delhi has allowed only “green firecrackers”.
Doctors treating Covid-19 patients have raised concerns over the possible effect of smoke emanating from bursting of crackers on patients in
home isolation
. Covid-19 pneumonia can worsen with the air pollution caused by bursting of crackers, they point out.