To stop fires, 9 am to 6 pm cooking ban in rural Bihar

In a directive seen by some as bizarre and others as innovative, the Bihar government has told people in the state, particularly in rural areas, not to light fires for cooking food or holding havans or pujas between 9 am and 6 pm.

The “advisory”, issued by Mr Vyasji, principal secretary of the state disaster management department, warns violators of a maximum jail term of two years.

The advisory was issued at the initiative of chief minister Nitish Kumar, who held a high-level review earlier this week after a spate of wildfires in rural Bihar killed at least 66 people and left over 30,000 houses gutted.

The disaster management department said in a letter to all divisional commissioners and district magistrates those living in rural areas should finish cooking by 9 am or do it after 6 pm. This was a preventive measure, the disaster management department added.

RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav had earlier expressed worry over the fires, urging people not to cook in daytime to prevent fires igniting and spreading due to the hot winds blowing across the state.