NEW DELHI: On the face of it, the national capital has kept its dystrophic form since Diwali: large-scale firecracker bursting, unbreathable air and a resounding defiance of court and government orders. By early Friday morning facts showed who owns Delhi as it featured among the top polluted cities of the world.
The sky took an ashen hue as heavy smog hung over the city, unmasking the claims of a cracker ban and large seizures of them.
The fireworks happened across the city despite the government banning the production, sale and use of firecrackers until New Year’s Eve. The social media was abuzz with residents uploading videos of the sky filled with the lights from crackers.
The air quality index on Friday touched 400 and above which was a ‘very poor’ state. The city’s air quality dropped to the “very poor” category, with an air quality of 395 and above at 10 pm on Diwali. Key areas, including Anand Vihar, saw the AQI plunge into the “severe”category while PM2.5 concentrations created hazardous conditions.
However, owing to the good wind speed observed on Friday morning, the pollution levels did not aggravate.
The police said that legal actions were taken against the people caught bursting crackers on Diwali night in some parts of the city. However, Atul Goyal, president of United RWAs Joint Action, blamed the government. “There were no teams to check the flouting of rules. In local streets, in the inner markets, there were shops openly selling firecrackers.”
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee reported extreme AQI levels across parts of Delhi, with Anand Vihar registering PM2.5 concentrations high enough to categorise it as “severe.”