‘Clean Air Week’ — India to deploy emergency measures for controlling air pollution

• As air pollution levels continue to worsen in India’s national capital and its surrounding area, New Delhi has decided to observe ‘Clean Air Week’ between 1 November to 5 November.
• 52 teams along with the support of local police and representatives from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will be coming together for the campaign.
• The campaign will cover New Delhi and the surrounding areas of the National Capital Region (NCR)— Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida.

The air quality in India’s national capital, New Delhi, has become a major challenge threatening millions of lives. The growing concern for air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) has pushed the government to organise a Clean Air Week from 1 November to 5 November.

It’s an initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in collaboration with the Delhi government and the other NCR cities, in order to combat the worsening conditions.

Clean Air Week, scheduled just ahead of Diwali, will bring together 52 teams along with the local police to take action against polluters in New Delhi and its neighbouring cities including Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad from this Thursday.

Teams have also been formed to ensure safety on the roads of Delhi-NCR. Each team would have a senior official from MoEFCC and representatives from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

44 of these teams are based out of Delhi and other cities will have 2 teams each supported by the local police. The teams will also ensure that the repeat offenders are taken seriously by ensuring criminal proceedings and that citizens abide by the restrictions on placed on fireworks.

The Indian Supreme Court has directed that citizens in Delhi-NCR can only burst crackers between 8 PM and 10 PM during Diwali, one of India’s most popular Hindu festivals. And, people can’t just burst any old firecrackers, they have to be ‘green fireworks’.

The meeting held under the chairmanship of Union Environment Secretary, CK Mishra, proposed certain urgent steps that can be taken to address the issue. The Delhi government has also been asked to deploy 400 sprinklers as a backup to mitigate any crisis.

In addition, construction sites in area have been instructed to shut down temporarily. Even trucks carrying construction and demolition waste aren’t allowed to move around the city uncovered. And if they do, the trucks will be confiscated.

Mishra’s proposal also stated that the authorities will have to ensure that there is no burning of industrial waste and biomass fuel.

Since of one the main problems in Delhi is its burgeoning traffic, it has also been advised that the Delhi traffic police launch a special drive for lane driving. District magistrates have be enrolled to ensure security and safety in their respective areas.

The CPCB teams will be monitoring the air quality index in Delhi and NCR region while the campaign will continue till 5 November. It has been emphasised that all the necessary steps must be taken to ensure that air quality levels don’t plummet even further.