Delhi AQI: Arvind Kejriwal has blamed stubble burning in Haryana, Punjab for the pollution
Air pollution levels in Delhi went deep into the "emergency" zone this morning with the national capital recording an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 625 - the highest this year - at around 10 am. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who called the city a "gas chamber" on Friday, said pollution had reached "unbearable levels across North India" and urged the centre to take action. "Delhi suffering for no fault of theirs. Centre should take immediate steps 2 provide relief. V will support Centre in all initiatives," Mr Kejriwal tweeted.
Delhi AQI crossed 500 late on Thursday night, entering "emergency" territory for the first time since January and forcing the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) to declare a public health emergency. It improved to 407 on Saturday morning but has deteriorated steadily since. Pollution levels in neighbouring areas like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad are as bad, with levels ranging from 400 ("severe") to 709 ("hazardous").
As residents in Delhi and surrounding areas wade through the toxic and poisonous fog, the central government and the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana have traded blows on social media and in letters to each other, with each accusing the other of failing to control the situation.
On Saturday, a day after Mr Kejriwal asked students to write to his counterparts in Punjab and Haryana, whom he had earlier accused of "forcing farmers to burn stubble", Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar slammed him for "politicising" the issue and said he was trying to paint them as "villains".
The attack, in a series of tweets, came as the Delhi Chief Minister sent him a letter asking for details of the centre's plan to counter stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. The Union Minister suggested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in power in Delhi, give part of its budget so farmers in Punjab and Haryana to purchase machinery to help reduce pollution.
The centre has provided subsidies of between 50 and 80 per cent but a Punjab farmer has told NDTV that the machinery is still very expensive and "it is compulsion to burn stubble".
Data on Wednesday showed nearly 3,000 farm fires were burning in Punjab and Haryana alone
According to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the contribution of stubble burning to haze and air pollution in Delhi-NCR was 46 per cent on Friday, 24 per cent on Thursday and 35 per cent on Wednesday.
Last week Mr Kejriwal issued a plea to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, asking for their help. "Smoke from crop fires have affected us earlier this time... we can't help crop fires from neighbouring areas," he said on Wednesday.
On the same day Captain Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, hit back at the "brazen lies" of Mr Kejriwal. Three days later Mr Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitting that while illegal farm fires in his state had exacerbated the problem, "large-scale industrial pollution, traffic overload and excessive construction activity (in Delhi) were equally, if not more, to blame".
In his letter Mr Singh called on the Prime Minister to find a solution for the problem, "in consultation with all the other stakeholders, including Punjab, Delhi and Haryana".
Meanwhile, Manohar Lal Khattar, the Haryana Chief Minister, has also written to Mr Javadekar. Asking for a joint meeting of concerned Chief Ministers, the BJP leader criticised the "growing tendency" of some stakeholders to "play petty politics" on the issue.
In an effort to combat the growing pollution levels the Delhi government has re-started the 'odd-even' plan from Monday. Under the road-rationing scheme, vehicles with odd and even-numbered registration plates will run on odd and even days of the week.