The Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens Association (LOCA) has appealed to over 1,000 residents of the area to refrain from using high smoke-emitting firecrackers this Diwali as it will not only affect the city's air quality but also cause breathing problems for those already suffering from COVID-19.

LOCA made the appeal via Whatsapp as well as over their respective social media handles. "COVID-19 patients have trouble breathing," read the message. "It is, as you know, related to the lungs…and those who recover from it also take a lot of time to become completely normal… We should take a conscious decision to give up high smoke-emitting firecrackers on Diwali."