Delhi’s air quality is extremely poor, with protests at India Gate against pollution, with several people detained.

New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital, Delhi, has deteriorated significantly. The Air Quality Index (AQI) has exceeded 400 in most areas, falling into the “severe” category. This is causing breathing difficulties, and the pollution is worsening the health crisis. On Sunday evening, people took to the streets to protest against pollution. Leaders from several political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, also joined the protest.

They marched towards India Gate, demanding the government enact concrete and effective policies to curb Delhi’s rising air pollution. Delhi Police stopped the protesters, stating that India Gate is not a protest venue as per a Supreme Court order. Police officials clarified that only Jantar Mantar has been designated as the authorized venue for protests in the capital.

Therefore, the police directed people to Jantar Mantar and detained several protesters who violated the rules. A Delhi resident stated that the air quality in the capital has now reached dangerous levels. He explained that the Air Quality Index (AQI) is continuously rising, and people are experiencing difficulty breathing. The resident stated that the government is not even allowing people to protest peacefully, instead forcibly removing them.

He expressed displeasure that ordinary people are falling ill and dying due to pollution, yet the government is still not formulating any concrete policy. According to him, the government is hiding the real pollution figures and is only taking cosmetic measures like sprinkling water on data centers. He added that the use of cloud seeding, or artificial rain, has also been ineffective and is not a permanent solution. Amid the ongoing protests against air pollution in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bhardwaj also reached India Gate. He said that the pollution problem has persisted in Delhi for a long time, but for the first time, the intelligentsia is taking to the streets to protest in this manner.

According to Bhardwaj, this situation demonstrates a lack of trust between the government and the public. He leveled serious allegations against the central BJP government, saying that whenever pollution levels rise significantly, the government deliberately hides air quality data. He alleged that the central government is openly “manipulating data” to conceal the true situation from the public. Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “Whenever the air quality is at its worst, data collection from AQI centers is stopped.”

On November 1, the average AQI was 322 at 4 pm. 330 on November 2, 340 on November 3, 350 on November 4, 360 on November 5, 361 on November 6, 391 on November 7, and 361 on November 8. The air in many areas of Delhi has become so polluted that breathing has become difficult. This anger was clearly visible in the protests against pollution. People demanded the government take strict measures and formulate a long-term policy to curb pollution. The increasing pollution in Delhi has seriously affected public life. While people are on the streets demanding clean air, the administration is busy maintaining law and order. This situation shows that Delhi now needs concrete and immediate steps to ensure clean air.