Delhi Air Quality Worsens After Diwali, Pollution Curbs To Continue

As Delhi Air Quality reached hazardous levels a day after Diwali Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the AAP government's control plan to fight pollution will continue for now.

Mr Rai said that stringent measures, including a ban on construction work and the entry of trucks into Delhi, under Stage IV of the Centre's air pollution control plan will continue in Delhi till further orders.

Gopal Rai said that the Delhi government has decided to extend its campaign to control dust pollution till November 30.

"We will launch a month-long drive against open burning of waste from November 14," he said.

On the widespread violation of the firecracker ban across the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday, Gopal Rai said that the crackers were sourced from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

"The police of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are police of these states permitted transportation of firecrackers. Some specific people have done this," Mr Rai said.

Mr Rai said the BJP members instigated people to burn firecrackers. "BJP members instigated people to burn firecrackers, leading to overnight increase of over 100 points in Delhi's air quality index (AQI)," he said.

Most realtime air monitoring platforms this morning pegged the air quality index (AQI) above 500, with some places reaching as high as 900. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium recorded an AQI of 910, Lajpat Nagar 959 and Karol Bagh 779 around 6 am, according to aqi.in.

Social media visuals showed people gathering in the parks of the locality for bursting crackers yesterday despite the Supreme Court's order.

The Supreme Court last week clarified that its order banning firecrackers containing barium binds every state and is not just limited to the Delhi-NCR region.

Delhi, where the air quality ranks among the worst in the world's capital cities, was cloaked in a thick blanket of smog with severe pollution levels for a week since October 28. The government had to shut schools and ban diesel trucks in view of the pollution, though it stopped short of enforcing the odd-even rule.