LG Baijal welcomes eco-friendly Diwali celebrations in Delhi

The Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal lauded plans to hold eco-friendly Diwali celebrations in the city in view of the poor air quality during winters on October 11. He took to Twitter to promote the initiative of Eco-friendly Diwali. LG Baijal also attended a meeting held in order to plan an eco-friendly Diwali in Connaught Place in Delhi. The festival of Diwali will be celebrated on October 27.

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The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, and officials of Delhi Police, Tourism Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, and New Delhi district administration.

Earlier on Friday, the national capital's air quality remained "poor" and is expected to slip into the "very poor" category by Sunday, officials said. The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 208, which falls in the "poor" category. The city experienced poor air quality for the first time this season on Thursday, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) said.

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Seven-point action plan by Kejriwal

Various measures are being taken by the concerned agencies to tackle worsening air quality. Delhi government has announced the implementation of an odd-even vehicle rationing scheme on November 4-15, in view of the pollution. Apart from the implementation of the Odd-Even scheme, Kejriwal also announced a list of measures to fight pollution in the national capital. He said that Delhi will celebrate a Pollution-free Diwali without the burning of crackers. 

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A massive laser show on Choti Diwali will be held. Kejriwal added: "The laser show will have free entry so that everyone can celebrate Diwali together and we hope people won't use firecrackers after that." He also said that the government will procure masks for the public on a massive scale and that they will be made available to the public, free of cost. 

His action plan also includes a dedicated helpline that will also be set up which will help people plant more trees, identification of 12 hotspots in Delhi which are categorised as heavily polluted areas and mechanised sweeping.

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(with PTI inputs)