How Agencies Failed To Clean Up Toxic Hubs

Rickety vehicles, illegal factories, trash fire & construction dust are still choking Delhi’s air pollution hotspots identified in Oct

- Chayyanika Nigam and Ajay Kumar

In October, authorities identified 13 Delhi pockets gasping under spiralling air pollution caused by a slew of factors. They promised specific and stringent actions to help people breathe easy.

425 Average AQI reading, well into the most hazardous category

On November 1, soon after Diwali, Supreme Court-mandated watchdog EPCA declared a public health emergency in the city as the air quality worsened drastically.

Two days later, pollution levels peaked to a three-year high, prompting top Central government officials to hold a meeting with Delhi, Punjab and Haryana over the issue of farm fires.

Now a ground report by MAIL TODAY reveals that there is hardly any breather at many of the 13 toxic hubs of Rohini, Dwarka, Okhla Phase II, Punjabi Bagh, Anand Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Bawana, Narela, Mundka and Mayapuri.

Smoke-billowing vehicles, unauthorised industrial units, garbage burning and construction & demolition dust continue to throttle people’s lungs there. Here’s what we saw at some of these hotspots.

RK PURAM

The air in this posh South Delhi locality is foul owing to vehicular emissions. The residential area falls between the busy Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road. These roads have limited space for widening and bear a daily load of 8 lakh vehicles.

Traffic flow from Moti Bagh, Dhaula Kuan, Africa Avenue Marg and Som Vihar leads to gruelling gridlocks, triggering plumes of noxious fume.

“Huge traffic jams during peak hours lead to pollution. As a preventive measure, we have carried out plantations along the roads,” said RK Puram AAP MLA Parmila Tokas.