Delhi Pollution: Frothy Yamuna Water, Smog Cover Over Anand Vihar Paint An Apocalyptic Picture Before Diwali

A layer of toxic foam – a mixture of sewage and industrial waste, was seen floating on the Yamuna River in Delhi on Friday. Amid a rise in air pollution, a layer of smog also engulfed Delhi the same day and the overall Air Quality Index was recorded at 293, in the ‘poor’ category.

According to news agency ANI, the AQI in the Anand Vihar area of Delhi dropped to 339, which is categorised as ‘very poor’.

The AQI at India Gate and surrounding areas was recorded at 270, marked as ‘poor’. The AQI in Dwarka’s Sector-8 area was recorded at 325 putting the area under the ‘very poor’ category.

Vivek Vihar area of the national capital recorded the AQI at 324, in the ‘very poor’ category.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI when marked under the ‘poor’ category can cause breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, whereas, when under the ‘very poor’ category, can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

WATER SPRINKLED IN PARTS OF DELHI

Vehicles of the Public Works Department (PWD) sprinkled water in the parts of the national capital on Friday, to reduce dust pollution in compliance with GRAP-1.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi government announced the strict implementation of measures under the Graded Response Action Plan-1 (GRAP-1) to improve air quality in the national capital, according to a statement from the Delhi Chief Minister’s Office.

The announcement followed a high-level meeting chaired by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, with Environment Minister Gopal Rai and senior officials in attendance.

According to the statement, 99 teams have been assigned to inspect construction sites for dust control. The Public Welfare Department (PWD) will deploy 200 anti-smog guns, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) 30, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) 14, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) 80.

Additionally, Delhi Police will assign extra personnel to traffic-prone areas, and Home Guards will be on standby if needed.

Chief Minister Atishi also urged Delhi residents to carpool, refrain from burning crackers and waste, and report pollution incidents via the Green Delhi app.

The teams will ensure that dust control measures are adhered to at both government and private construction sites, with particular attention to the removal of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, which increases PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels and contributes to dust pollution, she added.

To further control road dust, anti-smog guns will be deployed this season. Atishi directed the PWD to deploy 200 anti-smog guns on its roads and at major pollution hotspots.

BJP ATTACKS AAP

With the national capital’s overall air quality dipping, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a blistering attack against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying that the AAP does not intend to reduce pollution and only plays the blame game over the issue.

“The AAP government in Delhi for the last 10 years does not have any intention to reduce the pollution. The pollution is getting harmful again. The river and the air are polluted. The people are facing difficulties. This is just the beginning. There are elections after four to five months, I request the people to give the BJP a chance to make Delhi, Delhi again. The AAP government wakes up when there is a problem. The problems of Delhi would be solved the day they start waking up before the problem arises,” ANI quoted BJP MP Manoj Tiwari as saying.

Reacting to the same, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the national capital has been becoming a poisonous gas chamber and held AAP responsible for it.

“Delhi is now fast becoming a poisonous gas chamber and AAP’s polluted politics of blame game is responsible. What happened to the Punjab Parali burning which Arvind Kejriwal said was the main cause of pollution in Delhi? What happened to the bio decomposer? The stubble burning has started already. Arvind Kejriwal and his government banned the firecrackers. You took a move against Hindus for Diwali but what about these causes of pollution which are the main causes? There is no action against Punjab’s parali,” said Poonawalla.