Delhi grapples with its season of smog, as an unprepared Centre and state look for solutions
Spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter. The standard seasons of Delhi. Over the past few years, however, another one has crept in between fall and winter—pollution. And Diwali is when it peaks. This year, the morning after the festivities, a cloud of smog blanketed the capital. The levels of PM10 in the air spiked to four-digit figures, which even the pollution monitoring machines could not read. They max out at 999 micrograms per cubic metre. The PM 2.5 count was just shy of the 999 mark.
The people of Delhi had flouted the Supreme Court’s guidelines on the festivities and had burst crackers well into the night. “We have registered cases against 75 offenders flouting the firecracker norms,” said Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain. “Fines of 14 lakh were imposed on several other citizens indulging in sale of firecrackers or bursting loud bombs. But this is not a final solution as we can all see.” Said Delhi Health Minister
Satyendar Jain: “Admittance of emergency patients has more than tripled at most major government hospitals. This is an alarming situation for all chest specialists. It might be helpful if all of us restrict our outdoor activities to a bare minimum in these days.”
The politics of pollution
Last month, pollution levels in Delhi started to peak, partly because of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. This led to a political slugfest. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blamed the state governments for doing nothing. The Delhi government wrote to the two states, urging them to take preventive action against stubble burning. This year, in the Union budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had initially earmarked 500 crore, which the cabinet increased to 1,150 crore, to fund a two-year plan to provide farmers machinery at subsidised rates for infield management of crop residue.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin November 25, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin November 25, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Stop ruling; start governing
In every election the voters elect a government.
HEALING THE EARTH
Land Restoration for a Drought-Resilient Future
Speak of the nawab
For Heeramandi's male lead, Taha Shah, the road to success was paved with flops
Northern delights
Four Kashmiri fashion labels that want to put the troubled region on the international style map
WOOING THE WAVES
India is developing strategic ports overseas and is exploring new oceanic trade routes to pursue its growing geopolitical objectives
TIPU, SULTAN!
In his first major election after the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh humbles the BJP and proves he is his own man
A SLEEPER HIT
Naidu’s stunning victory raises questions about the vote-catching power of welfare schemes
SWEEPING LOSS
AAP’s disappointing performance has put a question mark on its relevance in the INDIA bloc
INDEPENDENTS' DAY
The Lok Sabha results in Baramulla and Ladakh reflect a churning among voters
Voters have changed, and we have benefited
In March 2022, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu asked a quirky question to actor-MP Suresh Gopi, who had come to the Rajya Sabha with a distinctive look.