New Delhi: After news reports emerged that the air pollution situation is unlikely to improve till next week amid reports of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, the Delhi government took immediate steps to bring the pollution level under control. Part of the strict measures, the Delhi government on Saturday banned 92 construction sites for violating norms in the national capital. “We have banned 92 construction sites for violating norms,” Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said.
On the other hand, the Delhi government on Saturday deployed 114 water tankers to sprinkle water on roads to settle dust, one of major contributors to air pollution.
Giving further details, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the Delhi government is running a campaign to check the local source of air pollution in the city — be it dust, vehicle or biomass pollution.
Gopal Rai said the government has started spraying water on roads with the help of anti-smog water tanks to reduce the air pollution as an emergency measure.
The development comes after the air quality in the national capital remained in the ‘hazardous’ category two days after Diwali.
On Saturday morning, Anand Vihar and Faridabad recorded an AQI above 600, and most of the places, including India Gate, Mandir Marg, Sriniwaspuri still have an AQI of 400.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee said in a report that the fireworks after 8 PM led to major changes in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi on the Diwali night.
“The sudden deterioration in Delhi’s air quality this year can be attributed to extremely calm conditions, change in wind direction and low ventilation coefficient, and use of firecrackers, according to the DPCC’s Diwali day air pollution analysis,” the DPCC said in the report.
A thick layer of acrid smog hung over Delhi-NCR on Friday after residents flouted the firecracker ban and emissions from farm fires in the region peaked at 36 per cent, pushing the capital’s 24-hour average air quality index for the day after Diwali to 462, the highest in five years.
In neighbouring Noida, the 24-hour AQI was 475, the highest in the country. The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (469), Greater Noida (464), Ghaziabad (470), Gurgaon (472) also recorded ‘severe’ air pollution levels.