Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 13 (ANI): The Telangana High Court on Thursday banned the sale and use of crackers in the state ahead of Diwali, owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to ANI, Macharla Rangaiah, HC Senior Counsel, said that the Telangana HC urged people who had already purchased them to not use crackers, keeping COVID-19 cases in mind.

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"Already the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed so many lives. The main symptoms of the infection are shown in the lungs. Burning crackers will further increase pollution in the air and the risk of infection will increase, and COVID-19 patients may collapse," Rangaiah told ANI.

The HC has also asked the state government to submit a report on November 19 in front of the court regarding the action that has been initiated and what measures have been taken to combat the infectious virus.

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Other states/union territories that have banned firecrackers due to the COVID-19 pandemic include Delhi, Karnataka, Chandigarh and Odisha, while Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh have allowed the selective use of 'green' firecrackers for a few hours.

As per the Union Health Ministry, there are currently 17,323 active cases in Telangana. As many as 2,35,950 recoveries and 1,393 deaths have been reported from the state so far. (ANI)

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