Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, on Saturday expressed concern over increasing air pollution in the Capital and said that it was dampening the enthusiasm of the people during the festive season.
He demanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal immediately meet his promises made earlier to control pollution in the city and that allegations and counter-allegations will not solve the problem.
The Badarpur MLA said he had, in a letter, sought to remind Mr. Kejriwal that he had promised cleaning of roads with road-sweeper machines, installing smog towers and air purifiers in Delhi, and spraying water with helicopters, etc. to curb pollution.
“The time has come when the Delhi government should implement all these measures immediately,” he said, adding: “The Delhi government should ensure that roads are repaired, public transport system is strengthened, the fourth phase of the metro is quickly completed and flyovers are built to rid the city of traffic jams.”
Delhi’s AQI
The air quality of Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida continued to be in the “very poor” category on Saturday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Delhi’s air quality is expected to remain in the same category on Sunday, as per government-run monitoring agency SAFAR.
The Air Quality Index of Delhi on Saturday was 345, and the values for Gurugram and Noida were 325 and 347, respectively, as per CPCB’s 4 p.m. bulletin, which is an average of the past 24 hours. All three values are in the “red” category, and this level of pollution can cause “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”.
Stubble burning fire counts in Haryana, Punjab and border regions of Delhi increased from 1,213 on Thursday to 1,292 on Friday, as per SAFAR.
The contribution of stubble burning to PM2.5 levels in Delhi was estimated to be around 9% on Saturday.
