The Supreme Court (SC,) on the 1st of November, declared a public health emergency in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR.)
The mandated panel of the SC judges even banned construction activities in the Nation’s Capital till the 5th of November.
On the night of the 31st of October, the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) recorded a “severe plus” air quality index (AQI.)
Bhure Lal, the Chairperson of the EPCA, wrote a letter to the chief secretaries of the Uttar Pradesh (UP,) Haryana and Delhi governments regarding the situation in Delhi. In the letter, Mr. Lal said, “We have to take this as a public health emergency as air pollution will have an adverse health impact on all, particularly our children.”
Citizens of Delhi are suffering from respiratory issues, headaches, coughs and smarting eyes. After witnessing the situation, the Supreme Court and the EPCA decided to declare a public health emergency.
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, blamed the neighbouring states, Punjab and Haryana, for the poor AQI. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) even distributed approximately 50 lakh masks to school children and residents of Delhi.
Mr. Kejriwal took to Twitter handle and said, “Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states. It is very imp (important) that we protect ourselves from this toxic air. Through pvt (private) and & govt (government) schools, we have started distributing 50 lakh masks today. I urge all Delhiites to use them whenever needed.”
Arvind Kejriwal also urged children to write letters to Captain Arvind Gill, the Chief Minister of Punjab and Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, regarding the situation in Delhi. Addressing the children, Kejriwal said, “Please write letters to Captain uncle and Khattar uncle and say, ‘Please think about our health.’”
On the 1st of November, the AQI across Delhi was recorded as 459. Out of all, Bawana was the most polluted area with an AQI of 497. The other areas in Delhi which topped the list in terms of having the most polluted air were the Delhi Technological University (487,) Wazirpur (485,) Anand Vihar (484) and Vivek Vihar (482.)
If the “severe plus” AQI does not reduce in the next 48 hours, the State Government would take steps like banning construction activities, implementing the Odd-Even scheme, etc., till the 15th of November.
Stay tuned for further updates.
