Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that it was unfair to blame people of the national capital for the alarming level of air pollution and slammed the governments of Haryana and Punjab for failing to stop stubble burning, which he claimed was the main reason of smog. The Delhi CM also demanded the Congress govenrment in Punjab and BJP regime in Haryana to provide a timeline on when they will provide alternate options of stubble burning to the farmers of their resepective states.
"I want to ask those who are saying that pollution in Delhi is not caused by stubble bruning, what has changed since September 30 in Delhi that has become so polluted? Did 1 crore vehicles come to Delhi suddenly or is it the smoke by stubble burning?" he asked.
The Delhi chief minister also shared two photographs, one clicked on September 26 and the other taken today to show the change in city's pollution levels. "Delhiites are making huge sacrifices. It's time Captain (Amarinder Singh) and (Manohar Lal) Khattar governments give specific timelines by when they will stop crop burning. Why shud Delhi suffer?" he said.
The pollution control body has declared public health emergency in Delhi-NCR as the Air Quality Index breached hazardous levels on Friday. The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority has also banned construction till November 5 and bursting of crackers through the winter season in the region.
Delhi's air quality dropped to 'emergency' category for the first time since January. The AQI was registered at scary 491 in Anand Vihar area. Even at 8 am, the Air Quality Index (AQI) value was hovering at 459 at 8 am on Friday after pollution levels breached the ‘severe+’ zone late on Thursday night. ITO was no different with AQI at 477. AQI in Lodhi Road area was at 461 at 10 am.
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2019/11/01/arvindkejriwalondelhiairpollution-755.jpg)