New Delhi to renew firecracker ban ahead of Diwali to combat pollution

NEW DELHI, Sept 9: India's capital will ban the use of firecrackers ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali in November in a bid to control air pollution that reaches hazardous levels every winter, the local government said on Monday.

New Delhi, a city of 20 million people, is the world's most polluted capital, where air quality worsens as low temperatures and stagnant winds trap emissions during the winter months, beginning in October.

The city has banned the use of smoke-emitting firecrackers in the past few years, but it has been difficult to implement despite warnings of jail time and fines, especially during Diwali when people burn crackers to celebrate.

"Like last year, this time also a complete ban is being imposed on the production, storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers so that people can be saved from the pollution," Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai said in a statement.

Rai's office said the ban would remain in place until Jan. 1 and one of his aides said an order implementing the ban will be issued "in the next few days" and it will come into effect before Diwali, which will be celebrated on Nov. 1.

The festival usually coincides with a rise in emissions from crop residue burning in Delhi's neighbouring states, which raises the concentration of fine particles in the air to several times above the safe limit set by the World Health Organization.

Some Hindus see the Diwali firecracker ban as an attempt to interfere with the observance of their religion. The government has previously responded to such criticism by saying that the aim of the ban is to save lives.

It is one of the several mitigation measures taken annually to control air pollution in the capital.