Chandigarh, Nov 12 (PTI) The Chandigarh Administration on Thursday rejected a plea by the city-based Cracker Dealers Association to review its order banning the sale and use of firecrackers.

The order came a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the Chandigarh Cracker Dealers Association to approach the UT administration with its plea.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, US President-Elect Joe Biden Will Speak at ‘Mutually Convenient Time’, Says MEA.

The association had challenged the ban, fearing heavy losses.

The administration had on November 6 imposed a complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the city amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Unveils Swami Vivekananda Statue in JNU Campus, Says ‘Our Ideology Should Not Go Against National Interest’.

After considering the association's representation, Manoj Parida, the adviser to the Chandigarh Administrator, on Thursday said the ban on the sale and use of crackers in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, issued under the Disaster Management Act, needs no modification or relaxation.

The representation by the Chandigarh Cracker Dealers Association is therefore rejected, he said in his order.

It also cited the opinion of medical experts who said the bursting of crackers leading to the air pollution will further aggravate the COVID situation in the city.

The order further said the numbers of COVID-19 positive cases were rising in Chandigarh.

It was noted that despite crackers bursting allowed for a small period last year on Diwali, the air quality had remained 'very poor' in the city.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)