Amitabh Kant's Brazil 'Stunning View' Post, Delhi Pollution Pics In Comments

Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa and former Niti Aayog CEO, on Monday shared a video of a "stunning" view from the hotel where he stayed in Brazil's Rio for the G20 leaders summit, drawing criticism from users on X who cited the air pollution crisis in his home city of Delhi.

"Stunning view from Hotel Nacional where I am staying in Rio for G20 Leaders summit. It captures the sea, beach, mountains, skyscrapers and the pavelas in the background," Mr Kant, who is in Brazil with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the summit, wrote on X and tagged a video.

His post, however, didn't go down well as many users pointed out that the senior bureaucrat is "not taking cognisance" of the "hazardous skies" in his city, Delhi, which is grappling with smog, a toxic blend of smoke and fog, for the past few days.

The national capital's worsening toxic smog on Monday had surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

"Mr Kant, when did you last see such clear skies in New Delhi? As head of the Planning Commission or whatever you call it now, is it not your duty to take cognisance of the hazardous skies in your city? What are your plans? Do share," Pavan Nair, a retired army officer, said.

"I have deep respect for your Mr Kant and you have been a phenomenal bureaucrat for our nation, but somehow this tweet of yours from beautiful Rio just opened all the floodgates of despair, disappointment and a sense of being helpless in your home city of Delhi for me today," another user wrote.

"While you are away championing (and rightly so) Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam for the world, your Delhi-NCR is condemned as the most polluted city in the world - we wrestled this title from Lahore," he added.

"I rather have you be the 'Sherpa' of counter parali effort across states, a Sherpa of not world peace but fresh air in the Northern part of India and a Sherpa who reminds the senior most leadership of this country to take the bull by the horns and save us in Delhi NCR," he added.

Congress Kerala's X handle also responded to the post, saying the air quality index (AQI) is only 13, but in Delhi, the "AQI reader has "gone bonkers after hitting the limit".

A thick layer of smog - a toxic blend of smoke and fog - enveloped the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) this morning as well with the AQI plummeting to the "severe-plus" category, forcing authorities to switch schools to online classes and invoke strict pollution control measures.

Shashi Tharoor On Delhi Air Crisis

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday also questioned whether Delhi should remain the Indian capital as the city's air pollution crisis worsened.

"Delhi is officially the most polluted city in the world, 4x hazardous levels and nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka. It is unconscionable that our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and does nothing about it," Mr Tharoor posted on X.

The Congress MP said he has run an Air Quality Round Table for experts and stakeholders, including MPs, since 2015 but "gave up" last year because "nothing seemed to change and no one seemed to care".

"This city is essentially uninhabitable from November to January inclusive and barely livable the rest of the year. Should it even remain the nation's capital?" Mr Tharoor added.

Delhi and the surrounding areas, which are home to about 7 crore people, consistently tops world rankings for air pollution in winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana to clear their fields for ploughing.