Agra, Nov 9 (IANS): Agra District Magistrate P.N. Singh on Monday banned firecrackers in Agra. Licences for the sale of firecrackers given for 12 identified spots in the city were also cancelled and the police have been told to strictly enforce the ban.

The National Green Tribunal earlier had banned firecrackers in the whole NCR.

The Agra DM said air quality was already poor and it could get worse if permission for crackers was granted.

The AQI was 458 on Sunday. A thick layer of smog enveloped the city on Monday.

The Covid-19 situation is also a cause for worry as the number of cases is continuously going up. As feared, after a brief respite in October, the November surge in the number of cases has the Agra district administration worried. In the last 24 hours, there have been 78 new cases.

Agra SSP Bablu Kumar is in home isolation after his report indicated he was positive. The Agra district magistrate has also isolated himself. BJP legislator from Agra North Purushottam Khandelwal, his wife, and daughter are under treatment at a private nursing home, after their reports were found positive.

Over two dozen doctors of the medical college have isolated themselves or are under treatment after their reports were found Covid positive.