Delhi faced persistent challenges on Friday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the ‘very poor’ category, at 389 around 7:23 am, the Central Pollution Control Board said. The city remained covered with a thick layer of smog during the morning hours.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Thursday announced he has stopped going for morning walks due to rising air pollution in the national capital. In an informal interaction with the media at the Supreme Court, he revealed that his doctor told him to be indoors to avoid any respiratory issues.
“I have stopped going to morning walks from October 24. I used to go out for a walk around 4 to 4:15 am,” he said.
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दिल्ली में प्रदूषण का कहर, CJI चंद्रचूड़ ने मॉर्निंग वॉक पर जाना बंद किया
◆ सीजेआई ने ये फैसला उनके डॉक्टर की सलाह के बाद लिया #CJI #SupremeCourt #DelhiAirPollution pic.twitter.com/P67OJjSUjK
— News24 (@news24tvchannel) October 24, 2024
Rising air pollution in Delhi has sparked political reactions, with the BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla blaming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Poonawalla said, “News surfaced that CJI (DY Chandrachud) has halted his morning walk due to the spike in air pollution. Delhi has turned into a gas chamber, with poisonous air everywhere. You cannot even go out without a mask. Going out and exercising in the open could be harmful. Rather than taking action on it, Aam Aadmi Party is still busy in the blame game. They used to blame Punjab earlier but now they blame firecrackers and states such as UP and Haryana.”
He further said, “They can even blame Israel and Lebanon for this. They never take responsibility and talk about what they have done for the internal reasons of pollution in Delhi.”
#WATCH | Delhi | BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla says, “News has come that CJI (DY Chandrachud) has stopped his morning walk due to the spike in air pollution. Delhi has become a gas chamber, and poisonous air is everywhere. You cannot even roam around without a… pic.twitter.com/QFKOdVnCX9
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2024
Defending the AAP government over the Delhi pollution crisis, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “The AAP government is working day and night. But as you all know in our 13 hotspots, the pollution level is more than the normal AQI level. Therefore, this time we decided that we’ll monitor hotspots through drones.”
#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai says, "As we had announced a winter action plan to control winter pollution, in that winter action plan, different measures are being taken to control pollution, to control vehicle pollution, to control biomass burning. The Aam Aadmi… https://t.co/3WUgPl8RgI pic.twitter.com/D8YYOlNogb
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2024
Over no concrete action from the Centre or the States on increasing air pollution in Delhi-NCR due to stubble burning, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the right to live in a ‘pollution-free environment’ is a ‘fundamental right.’ The Court further observed that the matter constitutes a violation of fundamental rights under Article 21 (right to life and liberty).
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