New Delhi: Citizens, environmental activists and student leaders on Friday demanded urgent action to tackle air pollution in Delhi, accusing the government of failing to address the crisis and shifting responsibility instead of taking concrete measures. Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Friday imposed stage three measures in Delhi-NCR under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Citizens Demand Better Air in Capital City
At a meeting organised at the Press Club of India, speakers raised concerns over the deteriorating air quality in the national capital and alleged that the authorities were focusing on deflecting blame rather than addressing the major sources of pollution.
“Fix Delhi’s air or the people will hit the streets,” AISA president Neha said, calling the pollution crisis an issue of public health and social equity.
She alleged that successive governments had failed to take adequate measures to address air pollution, adding that the burden of the crisis was disproportionately borne by children, workers and economically weaker sections.
Environment activist Bhavreen Khandari alleged that policies had overlooked the need for desulphurisation of thermal power plants and failed to adequately address emissions from waste-to-energy plants.
She also accused authorities of targeting citizens while failing to ensure accountability from major industrial and commercial establishments.
Environment researcher and activist Soutrik Goswami said vehicular and industrial emissions were among the major contributors to Delhi’s poor air quality, alleging that governments continued to shift the blame to farmers in neighbouring states.
JNUSU vice-president K Gopika Babu questioned whether access to clean air was becoming a privilege, pointing out that measures such as air purifiers, work from home and online classes were not accessible to everyone.
“Breathing clean air should not become a luxury in our city,” she said.
The meeting was moderated by AISA leader Anjali, who described the pollution crisis as a failure of political will and said its consequences were particularly severe for working-class and poor families.
A thick layer of smog hung over the national capital on Friday as the air quality deteriorated sharply and edged closer to the ‘severe’ category, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 391.
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi is likely to record its first severe air quality day of the season on Friday, with the situation expected to persist until November 8, the day of Diwali.
GRAP-3 Curbs in Delhi-NCR
In its daily bulletin, IITM-Pune said, “Air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category on November 6. The air quality is likely to be in the ‘severe’ category from November 7 to 9. The outlook for the subsequent 6 Days: The air quality is likely to be in the ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ category.”
GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold.
Under GRAP-3, there are strict restrictions on dust generating/air pollution causing construction and demolition (C&D) activities in the entire NCR.
Moreover, NCR state governments and the Delhi government have to take a decision on allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50 per cent strength and the rest to work from home.
The first stage, GRAP-1, kicks in when the AQI is between 201 and 300; the second stage, GRAP-2, is invoked when the AQI is between 301 and 400; GRAP-3 kicks in between 401 and 500; and GRAP-4 is invoked when the AQI is more than 450.
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