Delhi Police check vehicles to monitor GRAP Stage IV compliance amid 'very poor' air quality in capital

Stage IV enforces a ban on the operation of Delhi-registered BS-IV and below diesel-operated medium goods vehicles (MGVs) and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), except for essential services.

Dhal Singh, DCP Traffic, New Delhi Range said that they are not allowing vehicles that do not comply with Stage IV of GRAP to enter the national capital.

"We are checking the vehicles to ensure the proper implementation of Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)...We are not allowing the vehicles to enter which are not following Stage-IV of GRAP," he told ANI on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital was recorded as 349 as per the Central Pollution Control Board on Saturday as of 7 am.

AQI in different areas of Delhi was recorded as 351 at Alipur, 351 at Burari crossing, 377 at DTU, and 328 at ITO as per CPCB data.

Visuals from Connaught Place, India Gate, and Anand Vihar showed a thick blanket of smog covering the whole area.

Residents suffering from the drastically increasing pollution levels said that the government's intervention could help resolve several issues.

"The pollution is a lot; we are not able to breathe properly. The government needs to do something about this. The situations are worse for the elderly people and the labourers who are not able to work because of the current situations," said a cyclist near the India Gate speaking to ANI.

Another pedestrian suggested that the government should focus on transitioning to EV cars and explore better technologies for stubble burning.

"The government should work on the vehicles and try to shift the current transportation to EV cars. The government should also learn about better technologies for stubble burning," said the pedestrian.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe. (ANI)