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CHENNAI (REUTERS) – Hundreds of millions of Indians in northern India woke up to toxic air on Sunday (November 15) after Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, after many revelers defied the ban on using firecrackers to celebrate.
The capital New Delhi was covered in thick haze, with the average pollution level in the capital more than nine times what the World Health Organization considers safe.
Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had banned the use and sale of firecrackers before Diwali, also known as Deepavali, but the policy has been difficult to implement.
Residents of the capital launched huge amounts of fireworks to celebrate the festival well into the early hours of Sunday.
The city’s air pollution generally worsens in October and November as farmers burn agricultural waste, along with coal-fired power plants in surrounding states, traffic fumes and windless days.
The raging coronavirus epidemic, with more than 400,000 confirmed cases in the city of 20 million, has also raised alarm about the health hazard posed by suffocating smog, with doctors warning of a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses.
Cities in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and New Delhi, which have already suffered from some of the worst airs in the world, saw pollution levels even higher than in the morning after Diwali last year, data shows. of the government analyzed. by Reuters showed.
Average air quality indices measured at different locations within major cities in these states were higher than last year, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.
Some Hindus on Twitter condemned activists and celebrities who advocated against the use of fircrackers, saying it was an attack on their religious freedom.
“Are you realizing how all of India, all places, rose up in defiance against the cookie ban? It is like a form of battle cry for Hindu freedom,” tweeted Tarun Vijay, a senior Party leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata on Saturday.
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