NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court on Thursday banned street sellers from cooking food on the pavements of New Delhi to clean up India's chaotic capital. The ban will hit at the heart of daily customs of thousands of eaters in the capital, where breakfasts and lunches like pan-fried parathas and samosas cooked in vats of hot oil are served on the streets to hungry customers.

One exception will be made for the quintessential Indian tea vendors, although the court says they must now serve their drinks in disposable glasses and cups.

The court also passed several other orders regulating street hawkers, who will only be allowed to sell their wares on pavements only if 5 feet (1.5 metres) of space is left for pedestrians.

The Delhi Hawkers Welfare Committee said it would challenge the order.

“Delhi is a heritage city and street food is very much a part of it,” the group's lawyer M.M. Kashyap said.--Reuters