{"id":357257,"date":"2025-10-30T10:36:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T05:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=357257"},"modified":"2025-10-30T10:36:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T05:06:59","slug":"delhi-chokes-people-gasp-politicians-bicker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/delhi-chokes-people-gasp-politicians-bicker\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi chokes, people gasp, politicians bicker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s a story that is repeated year after year with no solution; Without coordinated, year-round action on emissions, waste, and stubble burning, Delhi\u2019s toxic air is likely to return unchanged next winter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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File Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The city\u2019s air has turned toxic, forcing schools to shut, flights to divert, and citizens to mask up against a sky the colour of dust. But as millions struggle to breathe, political parties are busy pointing fingers instead of finding solutions. The ruling BJP and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Congress are locked in a noisy blame game over Delhi\u2019s worsening pollution, each accusing the other of negligence while the air thickens with smog \u2014 and frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Delhi struggles once again under a thick, toxic haze this October, the city\u2019s pollution crisis has turned into a fierce political contest. The BJP insists that conditions are improving under its \u201cClean Air Mission,\u201d aimed at cutting PM2.5 and PM10 levels by half by 2030. BJP leaders claimed that Delhi could become \u201cbreathable\u201d within the next two years if ongoing initiatives\u2014like green crackers, the push for electric vehicles, and cloud seeding\u2014continue as planned. The party blames AAP governments in Punjab and earlier in Delhi for mismanaging stubble burning and failing to take practical steps to curb pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the much-hyped cloud-seeding operation aimed at inducing rain to wash away pollutants carried out by IIT Kanpur has failed to deliver. Scientists called off the seeding after discovering that cloud moisture levels were just 15\u201320%, far below the 50% needed for effective rainfall. The government said the process was postponed due to \u201cunfavourable meteorological conditions,\u201d but critics called it yet another failed showpiece. Experts have warned that cloud seeding cannot replace long-term measures to curb emissions from vehicles, industries, and crop burning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AAP\u2019s Arvind Kejriwal, attacking the BJP-led government, dismissed the trial as \u201ca gimmick to grab headlines.\u201d \u201cAll the engines of this government have failed,\u201d he said, arguing that the experiment was more about optics than outcomes. The AAP has accused the BJP of manipulating air-quality data by shutting down pollution monitors on Diwali night, even as air quality plunged to \u201csevere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Congress has joined the chorus, accusing both BJP and AAP of treating pollution as an annual talking point. \u201cThe air is grey, the lungs are black, and the BJP\u2019s accountability is invisible,\u201d said senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, calling it \u201ca public health emergency born of political apathy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the political crossfire, the story on the ground remains unchanged. Stubble burning continues unchecked, vehicular fumes fill the highways, and citizens suffer the consequences. As smog thickens and politics deepens, the authorities may impose extra emergency measures\u2014vehicle curbs, construction bans, and school closures\u2014under the Graded Response Action Plan. Cloud seeding could be retried if weather conditions improve, though scientists remain skeptical of its impact. Meanwhile, political blame-trading between the BJP, AAP, and Congress will intensify but for citizens, relief seems distant. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a story that is repeated year after year with no solution; Without coordinated, year-round action on emissions, waste, and stubble burning, Delhi\u2019s toxic air is likely to return unchanged next winter The city\u2019s air has turned toxic, forcing schools to shut, flights to divert, and citizens to mask up against a sky the colour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":350839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1961,14783],"tags":[15534,16060,16715,16676],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357257"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357259,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357257\/revisions\/357259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/350839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}