If you happen to have browsed the news channels in the national capital of the country in the last few days or are in some way connected to what’s been happening in the city of New Delhi, then you’d have noted any or all of the following:
There’s this great struggle the city is up against where it comes to pollution. For the rising air pollution levels in Delhi have left one and all flummoxed and rightly so. When you happen to wake up to air pollution levels that are in excess of 450 each morning, you cannot be anything but worried and disappointed.
There’ve been a string of measures that have been taken by the government to keep a horrible situation under control or under check as they say. Among the measures to keep Delhi’s denizens safe and at arm’s length from the burning issue of air pollution is shutting down of the schools and primary education centres for not less than a week.
Things, if you may have noted, have turned such a turn for the worse that the city was- and still is- considering a total lockdown. That’s exactly what Delhi has come to. But in order to truly assess what’s happening and where all of this post-Diwali weather fiasco is headed, we have to take cognizance of what’s happening right now and basis that, address some questions.
So here’s what the news is saying right now, before we head into some pertinent questions:
The air quality in the national capital remained in the very poor category with the air quality index (AQI) clocking the value of 344 at 8 am on Thursday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed. Though it remained in the very poor category, the AQI improved marginally at 344 on Thursday from its previous day’s index value of 375.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will take a call on putting in place harsher measures to improve Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in the national capital after 21 November, 2021 and asked the Centre and the states involved to follow directions issued by the ‘The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas’.
All of that told, while surely measures are being taken to counter the great disparaging reality of the national capital, what’s not known at this point is how far would any of such steps actually go to make things better? This, however, doesn’t intend to raise any doubts about the efforts of the authorities to control a situation that’s fast getting out of hands.
But having said that, what’s also important now, since the same situation occurs unfailingly each year, is to take cognisance of what measures being put into place by the government is actually helping the situation? Were decisions like banning the entry of trucks into the national capital taken after too long a wait?
Now, there are more questions that follow and it’s vital for these issues to be addressed. But what are these issues? Let’s find out:
A) Secondly, how strictly have those perpetrators who ignored the law regarding bursting of crackers been penalized.
B) Moreover, isn’t it time that the Delhi government put into place a law that debars one from bursting crackers altogether or are we still going to wait for our organs to have completely failed before any further action can be taken?
C) Here’s another question- how long are these ‘measures’ going to bring forth a respite from what’s become more of a norm?
D) What’s the guarantee that the same situation, wherein news channels will publish no other ‘breaking news update’ other than Delhi’s AQI levels, will not occur the next year?