Air Pollution News LIVE: GRAP4 Curbs To Continue, Says Delhi Govt, Blames UP & Haryana For Firecracker Rule Violation

The Delhi Fire Service on Diwali received 208 calls related to fire, 22 of them caused by firecrackers, and other stress situation, an official said on Monday. There were major fire incidents at Sadar Bazar, East of Kailash, Shastri Nagar, Sultanpur and Tilak Nagar on Sunday but no one was injured, the DFS official said.

During the press conference, Delhi minister Gopal Rai said that his government has extended its campaign to control dust pollution till November 30.

He also said that stringent measures, including a ban on construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi, under Stage IV of the Centre’s air pollution control plan, will continue to be in force in Delhi till further orders.

The minister said these steps have been taken based on suggestions from experts who have predicted worsening of meteorological conditions which could allow accumulation of pollutants over the next three to four days.

At a press conference Delhi minister Gopal Rai, said that the firecrackers burnt in Delhi were sourced from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and that certain individuals, including police personnel from these states, permitted the transportation of those firecrackers to the city.

Although no crackers containing toxic chemicals are permitted under the Supreme Court orders, their presence was detected in a separate test when their chemicals were analysed. The presence of barium — a chemical banned by the SC — was also detected.

The air pollution levels notedly dipped to the ‘poor’ category after Diwali.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit back at the AAP-led government in Delhi after environment minister Gopal Rai alleged that BJP instigated people to burst crackers. Bhatia said that if there is a government which is working on pollution, that is the central government, “even SC reprimanded the AAP government,” he said.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that the government will review its decision on the ‘odd-even’ scheme for cars and take a decision on it if the national capital’s AQI reached ‘Severe+’ category.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai has said 30 more sprinklers will be added to the pre-existing 335 water sprinklers. He also noted that 233 anti-smog guns will also continue being deployed along with 23 additional mobile anti-smog guns.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that over 20,000 sites were inspected during the anti-dust campaign, where 1,061 violations were found, adding that fines worth Rs 2.47 crore were imposed. “Anti-dust campaign will be extended for 15 more days,” Rai noted.

He also said that the anti-open burning campaign will begin from November 14 and will last till December 14, adding that 611 teams will be deployed for this campaign.

Rai appealed to the people of Delhi, asking them to download ‘Green Delhi App’ and report any violations.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai appealed to the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments to deploy teams to oversee and divert trucks from Delhi.

The monitoring of the 13 hotspots in Delhi will also be tightened, he said.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, in his address to the press after the pollution review meet, said that the pollution levels are not just for today. He added that in the coming few days, windspeed is likely decrease, which means that pollution level is likely to increase.

“Until the next batch of orders from CAQM, all restrictions of GRAP-4 will continue,” Rai said.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, in an address to the press after the pollution review meet, congratulated Delhi people for restraining themselved from bursting crackers. Taking a swing at the BJP, he said “However, BJP leaders instigated people to brust crackers and in one night, the AQI rose from 215 to 315.

He started off with addressing the improved air quality in the national capital for the past three days, attributing it to the rains and constant winds, saying that the AQI was between 215-220 on Sunday. However, he said that at night firecracker bursting took place in a targeted manner in Delhi, UP & Haryana.

He also alleged that the crackers came into Delhi from UP and Haryana. “If crackers were smuggled into Delhi… as ordinary people cannot do this evading the police in two states and the Centre,” Rai said.

The states of Haryana, Punjab reported ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ air quality on Monday, a day after Diwali festivities.

The average air quality recorded in both states was in the ‘satisfactory’ or the ‘moderate’ category at 4 pm on Sunday, but it showed signs of deterioration on Monday.

According to Central Pollution Control Board data updated at 9 am on Monday, some areas in Faridabad and Gurugram recorded their air quality indices above 300.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai is conducting a pollution review meeting at Delhi Secretariat.

Several vehicles in Khanna area of Punjab’s Ludhiana collided with each other due to foggy conditions that has reduced visibility on roads at the onset of the winters. Casualties due to the collision have been suspected.

Madurai city police commissioner said that 147 cases have been registered relation to the bursting of crackers beyond the time specified by the State government on Diwali.

Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi visited the forwards areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor to celebrate Diwali with the soldiers. He interacted with veterans and security force personnel.

Mumbai’s air quality worsened as a layer of haze shrouded the city a day after Diwali due to the open flouting of the ban on burning firecrackers. Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded as 234, which is in the poor category.

Many parts of the city, such as BKC, Borivali, Malad and Chembur recorded AQI in the ‘very poor’ category.

The Bombay High Court had imposed a restriction on burning firecrackers from 8-10:00 pm in the city, adhering to the guidelines by the Supreme Court. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had also appealed to the citizens to go easy on firecrackers amid the pollution levels.

However, according to activists, the ban was flouted across various places in the city and the bursting of firecrackers went on until late in the night.

Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari, commenting on the bursting of crackers, said that the Supreme Court rightly placed a ban on firecrackers… yet it is evident that it has been flouted. “There was like of will and there was no enforcement… in Lutyens Delhi crackers were burning till 2 am. It’s a very serious issue,” Tewari said.

Diwali Utsavam was held in Kanchipuram’s Varadharaja Perumal temple on Sunday evening, where Lord Varadharaja Perumal was welcomed by bursting crackers.