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'Putting them in gas chambers': SC calls on CAQM to halt sports in schools
Delhi is currently reeling under severe air pollution with experts issuing warnings over health implications of the toxic air.
As Delhi grapples with severe air pollution and hazardous Air Quality Index (AQI), the Supreme Court requested the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider issuing directions to the schools in the Delhi-National Capital Region to defer sports activities and competitions scheduled in November-December to later months when the air quality in the national capital improves.
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Advocate Aparajita Singh raised the matter and informed the bench that several schools in the Delhi-NCR are scheduled to hold sports meet in November at a time when air quality is at its worst, Livelaw reported.
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"Children are most vulnerable, holding sports now is like putting them in gas chambers," she reportedly told the bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran.
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On Wednesday, the national capital woke up to a dense blanket of toxic smog, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 392 at 9 am in the "very poor" category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Air quality showed no improvement from Tuesday, when the AQI was recorded at 341 at 7 am and 374 at 4 pm.
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Several parts of the city remained shrouded in a thick layer of smog, reducing visibility and raising health concerns. At the Indira Gandhi International Airport (T3), the AQI was recorded at 342.
Plummeting air quality and protests in Delhi
Delhi's air troubles began soon after Diwali, that coincided with the onset of winter season and farm fires in the adjoining states as the AQI even crossed 700 mark early this month.
Delhi residents took to streets to protest the air pollution and lack of policies to face the crisis. Scores of people staged a protest at the India Gate on November 9, with the protestors including parents and environmental activists as mothers accompanied by children said they said they had gathered to demand urgent government action to ensure clean air in the national capital.
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On Tuesday, around 100 people from several walks of life, including students and working professionals, came together at the Jantar Mantar on Tuesday afternoon to protest against alleged government inaction to worsening air quality in the Capital.
Protesters alleged that rising pollution worsens health issues and will have an adverse long-term impact on the city’s residents. They said that a lack of political will would only exacerbate their situation in the future.
