THAT CHOKING FEELING
Since the beginning of this month, the national capital, barely visible underneath a poisonous smog, has been the subject of apocalyptic headlines and post-apocalyptic photographs. It’s an annual event now, the ascent of Delhi, as happened on November 3, to the top of the list of the world’s most polluted cities, as measured by the presence of ‘particulate matter’, tiny, deadly particles in the air we inhale, which turns our lungs into those of chronic smokers, gives our children respiratory illnesses and kills over a million people across India each year.
Even as the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Protection (Pollution and Control) Authority declared the air pollution a public health emergency—a survey of Delhi residents showed some 40 per cent wanted to move to other cities because of the air quality—the Haryana, Punjab and Delhi governments continued to bicker and play the blame game. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has claimed to have improved air pollution since 2012, has cited data to argue that up to 35 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi at this time of year is caused by stubble-burning in neighbouring states. In response, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said the “air pollution in the capital was directly related to rampant construction, widespread industrialisation and total mismanagement of the city traffic”. Dushyant Chautala, the newly appointed deputy chief minister of Haryana, claimed that in his state, “compared to last year, there has been a 34 per cent decrease in incidents of crop burning”.