FARM FIRE IN PUNJAB, AAP FIGHTS SMOG IN DELHI

The winter misery is back to haunt the residents of the national capital region (NCR). As the air quality turned severe, the government was quick to implement the Grap III regulations, severely impacting education and mobility.

- SIDHARTH MISHRA

Sometimes I wonder why nobody questions the government and protests against the notification of these rules, for which the citizens are made to pay for no fault of theirs.

A few days back, the newspapers and television channels went to town with the news that with the ‘great efforts’ of Delhi government environment minister Gopal Rai, water was sprinkled by drones in the Anand Vihar area of Delhi. One lives in the Anand Vihar AQI (air quality index) tower jurisdiction and despite this ‘great effort’, the AQI has remained consistently around or mostly above 400.

Why we do not question the minister that why did he indulge in such worthless gimmickry. Similarly, a few years back, Rai’s leader and then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had inaugurated anti-smog towers with much fanfare to blow away pollution. In less than three years the fans have been junked and no questions ever asked from anybody on the huge bills paid to these vendors.