Delhi's pollution crisis, which worsened after Diwali firecrackers on Sunday night, triggered a political slugfest on Monday, with labour minister Kapil Mishra alleging that some people deliberately caused farm fires in the adjoining state of Punjab.
Flagging a ‘conspiracy’ behind high number of farm fires in Punjab on Sunday evening, Mishra claimed that the Aam Admi Party (AAP) members from Delhi, who were allegedly in Punjab, may have been behind the conspiracy to pollute the national capital.
Also read: AQI of 387 in India would be nearly 1,500 in US and 10 in UK. Why the range is so wide
“A targeted campaign has been launched to defame Diwali and Sanatan. I want to urge Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to investigate the 1,200 fires that broke out yesterday evening and file FIRs. Check the phone records of the Aam Aadmi Party members from Delhi who are in Punjab to see how they began campaigning two days ago. They knew two days ago that the AQI would rise. And if they deliberately set fires, as appears to be the case, then they should be sent to jail,” Mishra was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Deep Dive
What did the BJP allege about the Punjab farm fires and Delhi pollution?
How much does stubble burning contribute to Delhi’s winter pollution?
Was it confirmed that AAP members deliberately set the Punjab farm fires?
Mishra was speaking at a press conference where he said that on November 7 stubble burning was recorded at 125 locations, which increased to 1200 on November 8.
{{/usCountry}}Mishra was speaking at a press conference where he said that on November 7 stubble burning was recorded at 125 locations, which increased to 1200 on November 8.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi's air woes worsen after Diwali
Delhi's air woes continued on Monday, a day after Diwali, with several areas recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) above the 400 mark as firecracker emissions added to the national capital's already deteriorating air quality. The city's average AQI stood at 376 in the 'very poor' category at 7 am, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)'s Sameer app.
Several parts across the capital recorded 'severe' air quality on Monday. Sonia Vihar reported the highest AQI at 449, followed by Burari Crossing at 445 and Vivek Vihar at 441, according to the HT Pollution Dashboard. Jahangirpuri recorded an AQI of 439, while Delhi University's North Campus stood at 437 and Rohini at 435. Other areas in the 'severe' category included DTU (431), Bawana (424), Chandni Chowk and Patparganj (418 each), Mundka (413), NIH Narela and Punjabi Bagh (408 each), Commonwealth Sports Complex (404) and ITO (404).
AAP alleges AQI data ‘fraud’
As Delhi's toxic air set off a political slugfest, AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the Delhi government of “AQI data fraud”, alleging that pollution readings were being manipulated to bring down the city's overall AQI.
Also read: On Diwali night, Delhi's PM2.5 readings climbed towards 1,000, then went blank
Bharadwaj alleged that the government had installed 20 new monitoring stations in open areas surrounded by greenery and was sprinkling water around stations in heavily polluted localities to lower their readings.
He claimed that the measures like water being sprinkled around monitoring stations were being taken to lower Delhi's average AQI.