Delhi Anti-Pollution Protest: Police Detained Dozens Amid Toxic Air

New Delhi: With Delhi’s air quality locked in the “very poor” category on Monday morning, residents gathered at India Gate a day earlier to demand urgent government action against rising pollution levels.

Protesters of all ages carried placards and chanted slogans, with one sign reading “I miss breathing.” Another demonstrator, Neha, said, “We have only one problem, and that is clean air.”

Police later detained dozens of participants and seized banners, stressing that Jantar Mantar is the designated protest site in New Delhi. District DCP Devesh Kumar Mahla explained that India Gate is a national monument and a family space, adding: "There are VIP routes here; we are deployed here regularly. As per Supreme Court directions, protests should be held at Jantar Mantar.”

Government Efforts to curb pollution fail

Just a few months back, despite spending nearly Rs 1.9 crore and carrying out three rounds of cloud seeding to trigger artificial rain, Delhi’s skies remained stubbornly dry, offering little respite from toxic air leading to a failure.

The Delhi government, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, earlier conducted two cloud seeding trials throughout the day on Tuesday, hoping to induce artificial rainfall and curb the worsening pollution levels. However, officials later confirmed that no rainfall occurred due to insufficient cloud moisture.

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