NEW DELHI: Amid toxic smog, the BJP on Wednesday demanded that the AAP-led Delhi government close schools up to Grade 5 and establish clinics to treat pollution-related illnesses, which affect the elderly and the children the most.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the AAP dispensation has failed to control pollution, and the people are at greater risk than ever from waterborne diseases and mosquito-borne illnesses like chikungunya, dengue, and malaria.
“In a 4-5 km radius around each of three landfill sites, the air becomes doubly toxic. A report on the Okhla landfill indicates the presence of cancer-causing particles in the air. Delhi has turned into a gas chamber.
“Except for Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi and Gopal Rai, everyone is coughing or having eye irritation and headaches,” he said. Sachdeva said that a PM 2.5 level near 400 warrants implementing GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) level 3, but the Delhi government is not at all serious about it.