CM Kejriwal to Centre: 'Take immediate steps to combat pollution'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday urged the Central Government to take immediate steps to provide relief from the city's air pollution and assured full support in all its initiatives. "Pollution has reached unbearable levels across North India. Delhi Government has taken many steps. Delhiites have made many sacrifices. Delhi suffering for no fault of theirs," said Kejriwal on Twitter. He added, "Punjab CM also expressed concern. The Centre should take immediate steps to provide relief. We will support the Centre in all initiatives."

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Severe Sunday

A thick blanket of smog engulfed several parts of Delhi on Sunday morning pushing its air pollution levels into hazardous territory. Visibility dropped significantly in the national capital as pollutants hovered in the atmosphere. According to private weather forecaster Skymet, air quality in Jahangirpuri dipped to 'hazardous' category in the afternoon as the reading on PM (particulate matter) 2.5 crossed the 900 mark. Due to low visibility, flight operations at Delhi Airport were also adversely affected.

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An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is "severe-plus emergency" category. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had slammed CM Kejriwal for "politicising" the issue and said that it was "unfortunate" that he was indulging in a blame game. Addressing media persons, Javadekar said, "I think it is unfortunate that a Chief Minister, instead of finding solutions to mitigate pollution is into a blame game."

READ | Javadekar Hits Out At Kejriwal For 'politicising' Pollution In Delhi

Government response

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday announced a string of measures aimed at curbing ar pollution. This includes the reintroduction of the Odd-Even scheme from November 4 to 15, 2019 and staggered office timings for government offices. CM Kejriwal has also asked the Capt Amarinder Singh Government in Punjab and Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana to do more to combat rampant stubble burning in their state.

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(With ANI inputs)