The odd-even scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads.
Pollution
levels in the national capital surged on Tuesday morning as the air
quality remained in the 'severe' category. A day after high wind
speed helped bring down pollution levels in the city, SAFAR, the
government-run monitoring agency, said Delhi’s air quality index
(AQI) was 411 at 7:00 am. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too
recorded 'severe' overall air quality.
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.
The
odd-even
scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only
odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads.
In
the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida (493) and Gurugram (405),
also breathed polluted air.
Taking
a grim view of the surge in pollution levels, the Supreme Court
yesterday slammed authorities for failing to curb pollution in
Delhi-NCR and said they have left people to die.
A
bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta took serious note of
crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh and said it
cannot go unabated every year.
"Can
we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive,"
the bench said. The bench called the pollution in Delhi-NCR as
atrocious and said no one is safe even inside homes.
The
Centre, in response said that the number of 'good' to 'moderate' days
increased to 175 in 2019 against 157 in 2018. According to the
Centre, the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali, stubble burning
and adverse meteorology conditions exacerbated the pollution level in
Delhi-NCR.
Passing
a slew of other directions to prevent rise in air
pollution levels, it imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on anyone
carrying out construction and demolition activity in Delhi-NCR, and a
fine of Rs 5,000 on offenders involved in garbage or waste burning.
The Bench said it had “no sympathy for farmers indulging in it
(stubble burning) as they are putting lives of others at risk”.
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