Delhi residents portesting against air quaility in national capital (ANI)
NEW DELHI: As air quality in the national capital continues to plunge, several Delhi residents gathered at India Gate on Sunday demanding that the government take concrete policy measures to curb the city’s persistent air pollution crisis. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Priyanka Kakkar also joined the protest, accusing the government of being in “denial” about the problem.Protesters called for urgent action to address the hazardous air, which has pushed the air quality index (AQI) close to 600 in some parts of Delhi – a level classified as “severe.” Participants said their demonstration was peaceful and aimed at drawing attention to what they described as government inaction on the worsening situation. Speaking to reporters at the protest, Kakkar accused the BJP-led Delhi government of manipulating the data and demanding them to be on ground with the public.“People of Delhi are angry because the government of the national capital is in denial. They are not accepting that there is pollution. Rekha Gupta is sitting in her office-home after ordering 13 air purifiers – she should have been here. This is public anger. Because the BJP government didn’t take even a single step to address pollution and everyone knows it this time. The BJP government should have been with the people on the ground and not manipulating the data” she said. One protester said, “We want policies from the government to take action on the worsening situation of air quality. The AQI is touching heights, it’s around 600. In European countries everyone has the right to protest – here when we are protesting peacefully, no one wants to listen. We are being evacuated and not allowed to protest peacefully here. This is very wrong, we are not hurting anyone.” The resident further added, “All we’re saying is no matter whose government it is, common people are dying. Yet the government is not designing any policies and hiding the data. They are sprinkling water at the data centres. No one is working, the entire work force is in Bihar. What about our lives? Have we taken birth here to die?”Expressing frustration over failed experiments like cloud seeding, the protester said, “It’s been 11 years since they have been in government but they haven’t done anything to bring about change. Even the cloud seeding didn’t work. That is, anyway, not a solution. We want a permanent solution.” The demonstrator also lamented the lack of public participation in such protests, saying, “Even the public is fast asleep. Many people are here to watch the show, but they are not raising their voices in protests. We demand from the government to take action on the issue and make policies.”The protest comes amid alarming levels of pollution across Delhi-NCR, as authorities grapple with deteriorating air quality ahead of winter.