New Delhi:
Air pollution is an all-India crisis, with many areas in North India experiencing severe air pollution, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today as air quality in Delhi continues to grow. remained at ‘severe’ for the second day in a row.
“We are fully responsible for the increase in farm fires in Punjab,” he said, adding that it has only been six months since they formed a government in Punjab. “We’ve taken steps to control it,” he said. The burning of asphalt will decrease next year.
The Aam Convenor Fan Party reiterated that the central government must come up with a joint action plan to tackle air pollution and this is not the time to point fingers.
“The government of Kejriwal is not solely responsible for the worsening air quality,” he said at a press conference today with his party colleague and Punjab Minister Bhagwant Mann beside him.
Mr. Mann said that the burning of straw is increasing because agricultural products are also at record highs. The Punjab minister added that his government is considering diversifying from rice next year as long as farmers receive the Minimum Support Price and proposed alternatives like bajra, poplar and vegetable. \
Mr Kejriwal also announced that schools in the national capital would close for primary classes from tomorrow, adding that the “parity” policy was under review and would be implemented if necessary.
A forecasting agency has revealed that straw burning contributes 34% to the national capital’s PM 2.5 pollution.
Residents of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up on Friday to complaints of suffocation and ‘eye burns’ from smoke and air pollution that left residents gasping for breath.
