A pall of smog has descended over the National Capital, and leaders, be it from the state or Centre, have shown themselves to be less than capable when it comes to arresting the spread of this menace. In a development that ought to shame our bureaucracy and our political class, the National Capital Region, on Wednesday woke up to a haze that crossed the World Health Organization’s acceptable level of air quality by over 30 times. The biggest casualty of this poisonous air is young children and adolescents, who are most susceptible to long-term damage.
Thankfully, Delhi government has declared that schools will remain closed till Sunday with the caveat that this closure might be extended in case the situation does not ameliorate. On Wednesday morning, the level of PM 2.5 reached apocalyptic levels of 700 in a few areas of Delhi. Even neighbouring states like Punjab and Haryana have been enveloped in smog and toxic air. Ludhiana, for instance, recorded very poor levels of air quality, with the mean Air Quality Index clocking in at 313. India is no stranger to such poisonous air. Last year Delhi, Noida and Gurugram found themselves at the receiving end of such a scourge. In 2016, with the advent of winter, residents in NCR had the singular misfortune of breathing in some of the worst air of the last two decades. Partly responsible for this incredible crisis that currently afflicts Delhiites is the practice of Punjab and Haryana farmers of burning stubble.
Satellite images captured by NASA, which primarily focus on fires and thermal anomalies, show that this deleterious method has not been stopped dead in its tracks, although the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal have given multiple directions asking concerned authorities to act on this front. However, it will be wrong to assume that it is only the capital that is falling prey to poisonous air. Smaller cities like Agra, Patna, Lucknow, Muzaffarpur, Kanpur, and Faridabad are battling their own demons of poor air quality. In Kanpur, a potent combination of high and rapid industrialisation, rampant use of diesel generators and growing number of automobiles has led to its AQI spiking above 400. In Agra, a report finds that large numbers of diesel cars older than ten years ply on the road, even when the SC has put a ban on them. As per a report by an international environment conservation NGO, not one major city in northern India meets the air quality standards set by the WHO.
Meanwhile, more than ten lakh lives are snuffed out annually in India due to this new disaster. The need of the hour is to take up arms against this crisis on a war-footing. Errant officers who have deliberately or inadvertently overlooked directions of the SC or the NGT must be hauled up and asked to explain their omissions. If no reasonable explanation is volunteered, then they must be visited upon by the most exemplary of punishments or penalties, if only to demolish all doubts from the mind of the bureaucrats that the people will not continue to put up with such a helpless and infuriating state of affairs.
