19-YR-OLD TIHAR INMATE DIES BY SUICIDE, PROBE ON
NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old prisoner is suspected to have died by suicide in Delhi’s Tihar jail, officers said on Friday, adding they do not suspect any foul play.
Jail officers said the man’s body was found dead in a room inside jail 5 on Tuesday afternoon.
The man was arrested in February in connection with a case of rape and kidnapping, which was filed in north Delhi’s Roop Nagar police station.
“He worked as a sahayak (volunteer) in the record room of the jail. At 2.50pm on Tuesday, another prison sahayak saw him dead. The duty doctor was immediately called, and he declared him dead. Inquest proceedings are underway,” the spokesperson said.
NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued directions for Delhi and all National Capital Region (NCR) states to adopt a standard list of “permitted fuels” to curb air pollution, said officials on Friday. The directives will come into effect from October 1, 2022, in areas where piped natural gas (PNG) supply is already available, and from January 1, 2023, in other areas.
The approved fuels for NCR include petrol and diesel [BS-VI and with 10 parts per million (ppm) sulphur], hydrogen/methane for vehicular and industrial purposes, natural gas (CNG, PNG and LNG), liquified petroleum gas (LPG), propane/butane, electricity, aviation turbine fuel, biofuels, refuse derived fuel (RDF) for power plants, cement plants, and waste to energy plants. Firewood or biomass briquettes, however, is permitted for religious purposes, reads the order, adding that wood or bamboo charcoal is permitted only for tandoors and grills in hotels, restaurants and banquet halls (with emission channelisation or control system), and at open eateries and dhabas across NCR. Wood charcoal is also permitted for pressing clothes. Meanwhile electricity, CNG, firewood and biomass briquettes are permitted for use at crematoria.
According to CAQM, heavily polluting fuels such as coal (except low sulphur fuel for thermal power plants), light diesel oil (LDO), naptha — a liquid hydrocarbon mixture, and other such fuels which have not been mentioned in the “permitted fuels” list, will be banned across
NCR from January 1, 2023.
“Air pollution is a matter of grave concern across NCR, and particularly from the standpoint of a common airshed approach, it is essential to have a standard list of permitted fuels for various applications across all sectors in the NCR, in a bid to curb air pollution. The directions have been issued keeping in mind the need to optimally balance the imperatives of sustainability of operations as various fuel emissions have a direct effect on the air quality,” CAQM mentioned in its Friday order.
CAQM, in an order on June 8 this year, announced the ban on use of coal in industrial, domestic and other miscellaneous applications in Delhi-ncr from January 1, 2023, onwards. However, the use of low-sulphur coal at thermal power plants was exempted from the ban.
The Friday’s order stated a specific requirement of any other fuel by a class or category of industries, owing to technical or technological requirements, can, however, be considered by
CAQM on merits. According to the order, certain fuels are permissible for selective industrial uses outside of Delhi.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment, said that such a move is much-needed across NCR, as Delhi already switched to use of “cleaner fuels” in 2018 and banned use of coal in all its industries. “Now, NCR needs to do the same so as to take the next step towards cleaner air through the use of clean energy. The deadline of January 1, 2023, means that there is ample time to ensure that required infrastructure is being set up to provide permitted fuels at a reasonable price to all,” she said.