Pollution and the national capital are now synonymous and like every winter, this year too, a sense of desperation and surrender is noticeable even if it’s quite a few more weeks left for real winter to set in. Situation has reached extremely alarming levels prompting authorities to take a series of extraordinary and ingenious measures. But nothing seems to work and Delhi’s sobriquets of being the pollution capital of the country and also the most polluted capital city in world is gradually getting harder to efface. Last Sunday will remain as the worst day in its pollution history when it became the most polluted city in planet. Quite expectedly, the old practice of blame game has started and amidst this uncontrollable situation, judiciary, thankfully has stepped in to the rescue of the citizenry. There had been serious lapses on the part of administration that has led to this precarious state- it’s nothing secret and interestingly, this reprimand has come from none other than the apex court. 

It can be recalled that Delhi’s air quality levels worsened unprecedentedly by the end of last month and thick black toxic blankets of smog enveloped not only the city but also its adjoining areas. The negative impact this pollution entails for an average Delhiite is akin to the one which comes from smoking five packets of cigarettes a day! This is not just a sudden problem that has cropped up, but has slowly developed over years and culminated to this point, forcing many even to contemplate about leaving the city for good. Many ‘culprits’ are doing the rounds which are stubble burning, diesel vehicles, construction dust and garbage burning, a few among the long list. Whatever might be, it can never be concealed that there is a collective failure on the part of institutional machineries and that has been duly observed by Supreme Court. On Monday, it came down heavily on government authorities for passing the buck and not doing enough. While remarking on crop stubble burning, which is undoubtedly a major contributor to Delhi's pollution, the apex court, continuing with its tirade on Wednesday instructed the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to make sure that there is an end to it, with the warning “nobody will be spared” and “liabilities would be settled from bottom to top” in case of violation.

The harsh reality is that environment continues remaining a secondary issue for the country’s political class and people continue to suffer, until there is a judicial intervention. Nonetheless, there is lot to learn from Delhi for all, since, lackadaisical attitudes will surely give birth to many such ‘gas chambers’ sooner or later.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List