Every year, we Hindus see the same story being repeated in Delhi at the time of Diwali and the same story every year goes more intense. Starting from banning firecrackers on Diwali to criminalising use of firecrackers, the government of Arvind Kejriwal always brings Hindus at the receiving end of the rough end of the stick. But hardly the government of Arvind Kejriwal comes with an action against stubble burning which is majorly responsible for almost all the types of pollution surrounding India’s capital. Also it needs to be noted that it is Aam Aadmi Party’s government which is presently ruling Punjab. But every year Aam Aadmi Party turns a blind eye upon Punjab.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) statistics revealed that Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) falling to 426 at 9.10 a.m. Stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring states was cited as the underlying cause of poor air quality in the national capital by about 10,037 respondents. According to recent survey around 53 per cent of the residents of Delhi-NCR identify stubble burning in neighbouring states as the “primary cause” of rising levels of air pollution in the capital. The survey highlighted that 13% of the people believe that the primary cause is motor vehicle emissions, while 7% of the respondents blamed it on garbage burning in the city. Around 7% of respondents held industrial emissions responsible and 7% blamed construction activity. When asked about the Odd-Even vehicle program, around 10,547 of the respondents said they “don’t support” the scheme, the survey said. Also the data breakup of the survey showed 56 per cent of respondents do not support it while 38 per cent were willing to support this step to reduce pollution. On 3rd of November, the percentage of stubble burning in Delhi increased to 38 percent, experts claimed, causing the thick layer of pungent smog that blanketed the national capital and the main reason behind this is stubble burning in Punjab.

Earlier Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced, “In order to save the people of Delhi from the danger of pollution, like last year, this time also, there is a complete ban on the production, storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers. that life could be saved. This time there will also be a ban on online sale/delivery of firecrackers in Delhi. This restriction will remain in force till January 1, 2023. An action plan will be drawn up with Delhi Police, DPCC and Revenue Department for strict enforcement of the ban.”

Arvind Kejriwal at the time of Diwali be like ‘I don’t study IIT, IIT study me’. Around May, this year a study was done by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
The study shed light on the pollution sources which are impacting the quality of air in New Delhi. The study also addressed whether firecrackers busted on the event of Diwali should be considered a primary reason behind the poor quality of air in Delhi. Chirag Manchanda who is the lead author of this study revealed the impact of the fireworks plummets within around 12 hours following Diwali. So firecrackers must not be blamed. Both stubble burning and increased heating requirements of the region in winters drive the biomass burning activity.

 

 

 

 

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