In the month of November, Delhiites feel the smog and that may turn to fog in December and city will witness darkness even during day time too. Flights were not taking off from the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and the trains were reaching their destination late. Now the situation is becoming worse and Delhi residents carry on with the never say die attitude even as toxin levels continue to rise dangerously. This Diwali I had visited Delhi as I observed people bursting crackers by staying indoors for avoiding any asthama attack. Later I proceeded towards Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station for boarding my train for Mumbai. I climbed the stairs of the station without any difficulty but while coming down the stairs, I was feeling uneasiness.
In the melee of smog people bought water purifiers because tap water was contaminated and they travel by A/C cars because public transport was inadequate and not safe for commuting. Delhi Government is facing a ticklish situation and the city is turning into the most polluted city in the planet. The Government was forced to take extreme steps of closing schools for three days and imposing five day ban on construction and demolition in the sprawling capital. The Government also wants to temporarily shut down a nearby coal fired power plant. Worst is expected when the fog will hit the city during the severe winter season. Air pollution related issues might hurt Brand India and that will be affect the economy very much in the coming days. Apart from Diwali fire cracker smoke there are other reasons, which complicate the matter very much. The rising number of vehicles, dust from constructions sites and roads and farmers burning crop stubble in neighbouring states and the fire can been seen from space which is responsible for rising pollution in Delhi. The colder winter temperatures in north India also keep pollution low to the ground. Visibility is poor and the vehicle movement is restricted. The position is highly dangerous and the people stand in queues to buy masks from the market to counter smog choke in the capital city. Australian Cricket Team refused to play once in Delhi quoting high level of pollution and we mocked at them saying they are cowards and now even Ranji Trophy matches are cancelled in the capital city shows what Kangaroos had said has come true.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
