Union Environment and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to take measures to tackle air pollution in national capital instead of indulging in ''blame-game''. "I think it is unfortunate that a Chief Minister, instead of finding solutions to mitigate pollution is into a blame game," he said.
Pollution levels in Delhi and neighbouring cities took a turn for the worse on Friday with the region recording its worst air quality forcing authorities to shut schools, ban all construction activities and declare a public health emergency. The pollution level dropped marginally today with a slight increase in the wind speed. The city's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 407 at 10 am. It was 484 at 4 pm on Friday, according to official data.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose two-day visit to Delhi coincided with one of the worst spells of pollution in the national capital region, said the pollution in Delhi presented a very good argument on the need for electric buses.
"We have launched Indo-German partnership for green urban mobility. We have earmarked US$1 Billion towards this. Whoever has looked at pollution in Delhi yesterday would find very good arguments to replacing diesel buses with electric buses," the German Chancellor said at a business meeting in Delhi.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed Delhi a "gas chamber" and blamed stubble burning in neighbouring Haryana and nearby Punjab for the apocalyptic haze shrouding the city. The share of stubble burning in Delhi''s pollution stood at 46 per cent on Friday, the highest so far, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences'' air quality monitor, SAFAR.
Here are the HIGHLIGHTS on Delhi pollution:
Just landed in Delhi,the air here is just unbreathable.Absolutely disgusting what has become of this city.The pollution is visible, dense smog. People arein masks. How much more disaster does one need to wake up and do the right thing? Tell ourselves we are wrong. #DelhiBachao
- arjun rampal (@rampalarjun) November 2, 2019
Delhi: Aman Gupta, Dy Commissioner Central Zone, SDMC took stock of pollution mitigation measures near Arun Jaitley Stadium ahead of 1st IndvBan T20i, tomorrow. He says, "We've intensified measures, deployed additional tankers to spray water & mechanical sweepers to collect dust" pic.twitter.com/SzMJrgLtwD
- ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2019
Solution to #AirPollution is not 'switch on' and 'switch off 'mode. It is the sustained efforts which will bring down the pollution. All the state agencies and people need to participate in this effort to combat #AirPollution.@BJP4India @BJP4Delhi
- Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) November 2, 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose two-day visit to Delhi coincided with one of the worst spells of pollution in the national capital region, meets electric-rickshaw operators in Dwarka.
Earlier, the German Chancellor, in a meeting with business leaders in Delhi, said the pollution in Delhi presented a very good argument on the need for electric buses.
"We have launched Indo-German partnership for green urban mobility. We have earmarked US$1 Billion towards this. Whoever has looked at pollution in Delhi yesterday would find very good arguments to replacing diesel buses with electric buses," the German Chancellor said at a business meeting in Delhi.
