Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai directed immediate action at 13 pollution hotspots across the capital, with particular emphasis on Anand Vihar, as pollution continues to rise in the national capital. A statement from the minister’s office said an emergency meeting had been scheduled tomorrow at the Delhi Secretariat to wage a special campaign targeting these areas.
With the winter season drawing close and the scare about air quality getting worse, Chief Minister Atishi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting with crucial officials over the alarming situation of pollution in Delhi. Minister Gopal Rai and other AAP leaders took part in the review of the pollution situation, with discussions developing short-term action plans.
Chief Minister, while speaking during the meeting, said that there was a dire need for serious measures to control pollution this winter and called upon the residents to cooperate with the government in its efforts to lessen air quality issues.
With rising pollution, Gopal Rai said Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan for the Delhi-NCR region would be implemented as AQI crossed the 200 mark. This includes special measures like mechanical road sweeping, water sprinkling, and anti-smog guns at major crossways.
Besides this, a ban on burning garbage has been issued. Older vehicles have also been restricted; however, some reports state that diesel vehicles should not be more than 10 years old, and petrol ones should not be over 15 years old.
Moreover, to combat pollution in the winter, the Environment Minister has intensified an anti-dust campaign across Delhi. The campaign started on October 7 and found large-scale non-compliance in construction activities contributing to dust pollution.
Rai said the temperature will drop over the next few days, as indicated in the weather forecast, which may lead to a concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere. He reiterated that the only solution lay in reducing the sources of pollution: dust, vehicular emissions, and biomass burning.
“There is one effective strategy: we must focus on the reduction of the sources of pollution,” Rai said, adding that the government was moving ahead with 11 concrete measures and stood ready to apply emergency measures when needed.
