Indian Cities Ban PUBG Online Game Citing Harmful Effects on Children

New Delhi (Sputnik): At least four cities in India now have ordered a complete ban on PUBG, or PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds, which is a popular battle royale game among Indian youth and teenagers.

Last week, PUBG was banned in the cities of Rajkot and Surat in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Now other districts of the state, namely Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath, have also joined the bandwagon and issued a notification to ban the popular mobile game. The notification observes that games like PUBG incites violence and adds that if people are caught playing the game, then they may be prosecuted under Indian law.

​A similar notification was earlier issued against the viral "Momo Challenge", a viral hoax challenge in which an unknown stranger entices users to indulge in harmful, even fatal acts.

PUBG was created and distributed by a subsidiary of the South Korean gaming company "Bluehole". The game has already celebrated its first anniversary of its release. Since last year, the game has achieved tremendous popularity across the world, especially in India.

The game has been severely criticised by officials as well as parents for having negative, addictive and adverse effects on children.

During one of the recent direct interaction session of the prime minister with students through an event, a mother even apprised PM Narendra Modi about her child's addiction to the game.

Some Indians have appealed to the prime minister through social media to ban the game.

​There are also several Indians who have objected to the ban.