SAFAR says next two days may see similar levels; CAQM flags “increased incidents” of stubble burning in Punjab
SAFAR says next two days may see similar levels; CAQM flags “increased incidents” of stubble burning in Punjab
Air quality in the Capital worsened on Thursday due to a combination of drop in wind speed, increase in cases of stubble burning and reduction in mixing height.
On Thursday, the Air Quality Index fell to the “very poor” category from “poor” a day ago.
According to Gufran Beig, project director at the Central government-run monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality is expected to remain at similar levels for the next two days and the effect of stubble burning is likely to increase over the next week.
‘Increased stubble burning in Punjab’
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), meanwhile, said “increased incidents” of stubble burning in Punjab this year are a matter of serious concern.
“For the period 15th September, 2022 to 26th October, 2022, total paddy residue burning events reported in Punjab are 7,036 compared to 6,463 for the same period during the last year i.e. a significant increase of about 9%,” read a CAQM statement, two days after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said stubble burning across Punjab on Diwali saw a 66% fall compared to last year.
‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ shelved
Meanwhile, Mr. Rai said the Delhi government’s “highly successful” ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign has been indefinitely shelved after Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s “inordinate delay and refusal for clearing the file”.
“’The Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign plays an important role in reducing vehicular pollution in Delhi. The campaign was supposed to start tomorrow but it has been unfortunately shelved due to the L-G’s refusal,” he said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it “dirty politics” by AAP.
“It would be better if instead of levelling allegations against the L-G, the Chief Minister and his Enviorment Minister cite one scientific research report that says schemes like ‘Odd Even’ or ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ have helped reduce winter pollution in Delhi in the past years,” said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.