AAP govt did nothing to tackle pollution, says Gambhir
New Delhi, Oct. 26: The former cricketer and MP from East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir, on Saturday, accused the Delhi government of only putting up advertisements and doing nothing worthwhile to control pollution in the past four-and-halfyear of its tenure.
“People of Delhi are in distress because of pollution but the Delhi government only brings out detailed advertisements on pollution control. It has done nothing to address pollution in the four-and-half-years that it has been in power,” Mr Gambhir told a news agency.
“Things will improve only when work is done on the ground and not by bringing out advertisements,” he added.
Mr Gambhir appealed to the public to not burn firecrackers this Diwali to make a positive change.
“People have become aware now and they do not burst crackers as much as they did earlier. Awareness programmes run by the Central government have created a difference on the ground”, he said.
Air quality remained “very poor” on Saturday and is expected to turn “severe” post-Diwali due to firecracker emissions and spike in stubble burning in neighbouring states.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the National Capital Region’s overall air quality index (AQI) is expected to enter the “severe” category for a short period of time on Sunday night, but the situation would be not as bad as last year.
Last year, Delhi’s AQI stood at 642, which falls in the “severe plus emergency” category, on November 8, the day after Diwali.