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Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai wrote to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, urging him to take stringent action against violations of the firecracker ban in the national capital.
"It has been brought to my notice that despite the ban, firecrackers are being openly sold in various markets of Delhi. These firecrackers are being brought through various borders connecting Delhi to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," read the letter of Gopal Rai to LG Saxena. With the intent of curbing pollution, Minister Gopal Rai on October 14 had announced production, storage, distribution, and use of firecrackers in the city until January 1. The letter further read, "It implies that Delhi Police as Law enforcement agencies have not taken the directions to ban firecrackers seriously and vendors are openly flouting the ban imposed." "Bursting of these firecrackers during Diwali is going to have adverse effects on air pollution and on the health of residents of Delhi," the letter added. Earlier today, Certain areas of the national capital witnessed a layer of smog engulfing the area as the air quality remained in the 'Very Poor' category on Monday. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 328, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). SAFAR has predicted that despite the ban on firecrackers till January 1 in Delhi, the additional emissions from the use of firecrackers and stubble burning, air quality in the capital is likely to remain in the 'Very Poor' category for the coming week. Earlier on October 24, LG Saxena had written to Chief Minister Atishi to use Civil Defence Volunteers (CDV) to help with pollution mitigation too. In the letter, LG Saxena raised the issue not being able to tackle pollution effectively, "DPCC informed about lack of adequate enforcement machinery which hampers their efficacy for various measures invoked by CAQM and the state government and other government agencies." (ANI)
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