Will the restrictions to fight against pollution in Delhi extend?
As the days are passing by, the air quality index is severely deteriorating in the whole world. But, the city that is mostly experiencing the poor quality of air in Delhi. According to the intel received from the SAFAR bulletin, the composition of stubble burning related pollutants in Delhi is recorded to be high in spite of high wind speeds.
The air quality has continued to be placed in the category of “very poor” for consecutive days. The overall air quality index has spiked from 347 on Sunday to 352 today. The concentration of Pm stood at the rate of 2.5 and 10 were ranked in the category of ‘very poor ’ and ‘poor’ respectively.
The Air Quality Index between zero and 50 is considered to be good while the range between 51 and 100 is termed as satisfactory. However, the air quality between the range of 201 and 300 is considered to be poor and the range from 301 to 400 and 401 to 500 is considered to be very poor and severe respectively.
Since the air quality level is severely affected by the daily activities of humans, the government has realized a dire need to take control of the situation. The government ruled by Arwind Kejriwal has extended the ban imposed on the entry of trucks in Delhi. Moreover, the government has informed the schools to be closed and allowed the employees to continue working from home. The government has taken this drastic measure in order to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Since the government has passed strict regulations to take control of the poor air quality index in Delhi, the question arises: For how long will the restrictions be imposed? Will the government extend the ban in the near days?
Restrictions imposed by the Delhi Government panel?
Delhi Government introduced a 10 point decision list taking advice from the central air panel as well as the laws imposed by the state government to take control of the rising pollution levels in Delhi.
It was informed that the Delhi environment minister Gopal rai will organize a meeting with the senior government officers in order to review the regulations imposed to decrease the air quality index and whether there will be an extension in the ban. The restrictions were to come to an end on Sunday, 21st November.
All officials of the concerned departments were asked to attend the meeting regarding the extension of restrictions.
The previous Wednesday a list of 10 pointers was brought forward by the Delhi Government including the measures advised by the Central Air panel.
A ban on construction work and offline classes in Delhi was declared by the Commission for air quality Management. The restrictions were also applicable to the National capital Region. Apart from that, the government has also prohibited the entry of trucks within the city.
The decision to prepare a 10- point list came from the orders of the Supreme Government. The latter provided a 24 hours deadline to take the required measures to reduce the AQI in Delhi.
The Delhi Government previously put a ban on the process of demolition till November 17, the date was later extended to 21 November. The rule to keep all workplaces closed and work from home in all government offices was also increased till 21 November. The government has also decided to keep all the educational institutions closed until further order is given. This was done with the main intention to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
In addition, the government has also used fire trucks to sprinkle water in 13 pollution hotspots and took over 1000 private buses.
Delhi’s air quality was also estimated to be very poor on Sunday Morning and it was suggested that the strong surface winds would help to decrease the poor air quality as affirmed by the authorities.
SAFAR has further suggested that the high surface winds during November 21 and November 23 will substantially improve the air quality. The transport level winds are calculated to come out strong which will remove the local pollutants present in that region.
In addition, Delhi has also recorded a minimum temperature of around 9 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature is recorded to be around 27 degrees Celsius.
Are the restrictions imposed on the state of Delhi extended?
Keeping in mind the high air quality index, the state government has announced that there will be an extension in the restrictions to curb the air pollution surrounding Delhi and the nearby regions. All Delhi Government officials are asked to work from home till on the 26th of November. Truck entries are banned into the region except for the distribution of essential commodities till the 26 of November. However, the environment minister Gopal Rai has stated that they are granting the CNG trucks to enter the region.
The Environment Minister has further declared that the pollution levels in the city of Delhi and the surrounding regions are decreasing significantly. It is because of the various measures imposed by the State government along with the Central Air Panel and the change in the wind speed. The ban on demolition and construction activities have excised but strict monitoring will take place as stated by the Environment Minister.
Apart from this, 1000 CNG-operated public buses came into operation as stated by Gopal rai. The step has been taken to reduce the concentration of particulate matter from the surroundings.
Further, if any agency is found to violate the dust control restrictions as stated by the government, the authority will take strict action regarding the violation. Thus, they would stop the work of the institution and impose penalties without any notice.
The decisions regarding the opening of educational institutions and government offices will be brought into account on November 24.
SAFAR has recorded that the air Quality Index in Gurugram stands at 318 and Faridabad’s AQI is marked at 326.
SAFAR has moreover declared that the decrease in fire counts and high surface winds would reduce the particulate pollutants and thus improve the air quality significantly in the next two days. Delhi’s PM remains at 2.5 despite high wind speeds.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma.
