New Delhi: A gas chamber

Iam from the capital city of India, New Delhi. I love absolutely everything about my city. From food to fashion, the city has always been my number one. In recent times, Delhi has revealed its other side, one that is not so pleasant. From rape cases to the poor job market, we’ve heard and seen plenty. The city that was once on every tourist’s bucket list may have lost some of its loyalists.

For my son’s first Diwali celebration we headed to our home city with a lot of excitement. It was his first trip to his grandparents’ house. Of course, we were aware of the air pollution but you don’t know how bad a situation is till you see it with your own eyes.

We landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the afternoon and we couldn’t believe what we saw. My eyes turned blurry within seconds. The city was engulfed in smoke. I was scared, for my child, my family, and for the people of Delhi. It looked like a scene from the movies.

What was disturbing to see was the indifference on the faces of the people there. They were moving about doing their daily chores like nothing had happened. Pollution levels in Delhi are a staggering 18 times higher than permissible levels. The air quality remains in the ‘poor category’ as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar).

The Supreme Court has sharply criticised both central and state governments for not doing enough to limit pollution. If the current situation doesn’t give us a wake-up call, I honestly don’t know what will.

■ The reader is a writer based in Dubai.

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