The Capital city wakes up into a thick smog on yet another morning as the air quality in several parts of the city continues to be in a severe category for the third day. The pollution problem in Delhi and nearing areas have reached to a level that a health emergency has been declared in Delhi.
Since Tuesday, the capital and the surrounding areas have been suffering the drastic increase in smog, the mixture of air pollution, fog and smoke. Following the rising critical situation in Delhi, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) declared a medical emergency in the region.
After the National Green Tribunal (NGT) slashed down on Haryana, Punjab and Delhi governments for not being able to control the air pollution, the Delhi government got the wake-up call and announced multiple measures. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, held meetings with the health and environment officials to review the seriousness of the situation and called Delhi a ‘gas chamber’.
The Chief Minister declared that all schools in Delhi-NCR will be shut down till 12 Nov, Sunday. As per the orders of the NGT there will be no industrial activities in Delhi till 14 Nov and has all trucks carrying construction materials in Delhi-NCR has been banned for a few days.
According to the reports of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi and nearing areas are facing severe environmental risks. Generally, Air Quality Index (AQI) levels above 100 are considered hazardous and the levels in Delhi are far more than the risk level reaching up to 300-400 and crossing 440 mark in several areas. The national capital has also crossed the permissible PM 2.5 and PM 10 limits, which are 60 and 100 respectively.
The NGT yesterday lashed out at the governments of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, questioning as to why they did not issue orders to shut down construction and industrial activities in the capital despite the worsening air quality. The agency has also asked the Punjab, UP and Haryana government to submit a report on what measures were taken by the government to curb this health emergency and to prevent crop burning.
Scathing down on the government, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that “Why don’t you pass directions to stop construction and industrial activities for a month? What are you waiting for? Are courts your local guardians? What are you doing to the children? Old people are not able to walk.”
The NGT has also ordered the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to collect ambient air quality samples from different parts of the city and submit an analysis containing details of different pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and 10. The NGT also asked, “why rain wasn’t artificially being triggered using helicopters.” Also slandering the neighboring states of Delhi the Green Tribune said that “All the constitutional authorities and statutory bodies measurably failed to perform their duties. So far pollution is the concern, it is a joint responsibility of all the stakeholders.”
The agency also accused the governments of the concerned states to snatch the right to life from people by adopting such an ignorant behavior and reminded that according to Articles 21 and 48 of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the governments to make sure that citizens get a clean and conducive environment. It has also asked the all concerned authorities and pollution control boards to file the status report by 14 Nov, the next date of hearing.
After being reprimanded by the NGT, the AAP government issued a public health advisory on Wednesday. The advisory listed down instructions for the people to fight this health emergency. It read:
- Use carpooling and public transport
- Stay indoors and don’t smoke
- Avoid going for walk during early morning and late evening hours
- Avoid burning dry leaves, crops residues, wood, coal, etc
- Visit nearest medical facility, if they feel breathlessness or palpitation
- If you feel irritation in the throat and nose, take steam and do salt water gargles
- Extra precautions to be taken by high-risk groups such as children, elderly, pregnant women, asthma patients, heart disease and stroke, diabetics, and people with low immunity
- Use N95 masks while going outdoor during peak pollution hours.
The DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) issued a statement which said that from 9 Nov, the Delhi Metros will run extra train trips across its network. In an attempt to reduce the use of private vehicles, the Delhi Metro on Wednesday also announced a four-fold hike in the rates for parking on its premises.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court in order to deal with the critical emergency issued orders on 9 Nov to wash the streets with water to prevent dust generation. The court has also asked the Delhi government to implement the odd-even vehicle movement scheme for a short time to help fight the health emergency.
The High Court has also directed to call an emergency meeting of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change with Chief Secretaries of NCR states and pollution control agencies within three days, to find a solution to the problem.
After being reapproached by the NGT and the Delhi High Court, the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal commented that ” if the Centre, UP, Punjab and Haryana governments put politics aside and unite, a solution can be found.” In his statement to the press, he also underlined the point that the government of the neighboring states needs to find a solution for burning the crops and also added that the states need to provide subsidies to farmers in order to control air pollution.
The Delhi Chief Minister said that the odd-even scheme will be implemented in a day and the entry of trucks in Delhi are also banned. “But data shows that these measures won’t be enough till a viable solution is found for crop burning,” he added
The CM, during the press conference also said that he has written a letter to the Chief Minister’s of Punjab and Haryana, seeking a meeting with them to come to a joint solution.
Meanwhile, Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment Minister, issued a statement asking the people not to panic and take precautions. He also said that he has asked the concerned governments to implement a graded plan to overcome the health emergency. “I’m constantly monitoring the situation. There should be no reason to panic. Take precautions and try to stay indoors. Don’t expose children to polluted air,” he said.
As per the statement of the Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, the odd-even policy for vehicles is likely to be implemented from 13 to 17 November. The scheme was first brought into practice in 2016, as an experiment. Under the scheme, non-commercial or private vehicles are allowed to travel in Delhi on alternate days only – on odd days if the number plate of the vehicle ends in an odd number and the same goes for even-numbered vehicles.