AT LEAST THREE MYANMAR COPS CROSS INTO INDIA SEEKING REFUGE
GUWAHATI: At least three Myanmar nationals, who say they are policemen, crossed over to the Indian side through the border in Mizoram and have sought refuge, in the first such incident since last month’s coup in the neighbouring country, officials said on Thursday.
Mizoram home minister Lalchamliana confirmed that the three people crossed over and entered Serchip district bordering Myanmar on Wednesday.
“These men claim that they are policemen. We have sent officials to verify their claims. They are yet to submit a report. It is very likely that the information is true,” Lalchamliana said.
A Reuters report quoting unnamed officials said at least 19 policemen had crossed over to the Indian side through border areas in Serchip and Champhai districts. HT couldn’t independently verify the claim.
Those entering India can be granted refugee status, but they will be deported if the government decides against it
Authorities in Mizoram have been bracing for a possible influx of refugees from Myanmar since last month’s coup and the growing civil disobedience movement against the military. The state shares a 510km border with Myanmar.
THE REPORT SAID APART FROM AIR POLLUTION, DELHI NEEDED TO TACKLE ISSUES OF BASIC AMENITIES SUCH AS THE SUPPLY OF CLEAN WATER FOR EVERYONE
NEW DELHI: Consistent poor air quality and high levels of microscopic particulate matter pollutants have got Delhi 42nd rank in the environment category among 49 cities with a million or more population in a survey by the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for the Ease of Living report that was released on Thursday.
Environment was one of the metrics under the Sustainability Pillar on which Delhi scored 56.02, slightly above the national average of 53.63, securing the 28th rank. According to the report, for ranking cities on environment, indicators such as water quality, tree cover, hazardous waste generation and air quality index were considered.
Despite steps by local and central agencies, Delhi’s city’s air quality takes an annual plunge every winter, with the air quality hitting ‘emergency’ levels on the AQI scale, especially between December and January.
Pune, with a score of 75.74 topped the list of cities in the Sustainability category, followed by Visakhapatnam, which scored 65.18 and Pimpri Chinchwad, whose score was 65.09.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, “Work has been done in the field of pollution control and we are seeing that every year, Delhi is managing to bring down its pollution curve but a major area where work is lagging is solid waste management.”
“Cities in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru) suffer significant drops this year,” the report said.
It added that apart from the problem of air pollution, Delhi needed to tackle the issues of “basic amenities”, such as the provision of clean water to all.
The report said that cities such as Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Indore, and Lucknow showed poor performance in developing green spaces and buildings.