New Delhi : Several students and Delhi residents, who were protesting against Delhi’s deteriorating air quality at India Gate, were detained by the police and taken to an undisclosed location. The protest, called by civil society, began on Sunday evening to demand policies to curb hazardous air pollution in the National Capital region, as air quality remained in the “very poor” category, with the overall Air Quality Index at 391, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
The citizens were protesting against Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and the ongoing air pollution in Delhi. The detainees include many female students along with the JNUSU President, Joint Secretary, and AISA DU President and Secretary.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Devesh Kumar Mahla, appealed to people not to protest at India Gate, referring to a Supreme Court order, saying there are designated protest sites at Jantar Mantar.
“Hence, we are advising people to follow the guidelines, rules. They can give an application for a protest at Jantar Mantar, and we will give permission. The congregation of the crowd here is not good in terms of security,” he added.
“Private monitors show that the air quality index has crossed 999 at several locations. Instead of taking concrete action, authorities are shutting down a peaceful protest. What are people asking for? Their right to breathe. For the last 15 days, we haven’t heard anything — no lockdown, no shutdown. There are only stories about cloud seeding or other distractions. It’s a very unfortunate situation,” the protestor told PTI.
Oppn Joins Protest
Leaders from the opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress, also joined the protest and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for rising air pollution in the national capital.
AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj praised the civil society members for organising the protest and slammed the Rekha Gupta dispensation and institutions linked to climate control and monitoring.
“This protest has been called by some members of civil society, and we are glad that a non-political protest has been organised on an issue like pollution. Many well-educated and knowledgeable people have joined it. Why have they joined? Because there is now a trust deficit among the people when it comes to the government,” said the former Delhi minister.
” Major institutions like the DPCC, CPCB, CAQM, and IMD are fudging data and manipulating figures. When a government itself tampers with data, it creates a trust deficit, and that’s why the intellectual community has taken to the streets today. That’s what is alarming. Pollution has existed for the last 10 years, but what’s alarming now is that the government is manipulating the data,” he added.
Congress leader Abhishek Dutt lashed out at the triple-engine government, saying, “It’s very sad. We have a triple-engine government, since they can’t address a basic issue, I have not come here as a Congressman, but as a citizen of the country.”
‘Feels Like We’re Moving Backwards’
Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmentalist, at the protest site raised concerns over the lack of preventive measures being adopted by the government and the citizens.
“So many mothers and parents are deeply concerned because there’s a troubling narrative right now — nobody is wearing masks, as you can see. There are marathons being held, schools are conducting sports days, and yet there is no advisory in place,” she said.
She said their request to meet elected officials and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was refused.
“We’ve reached severe and hazardous levels of pollution, but the GRAP measures have not been implemented. It feels like we are moving backwards. That’s our request — please, this is about our children. These are little children who are getting affected; every third child already has damaged lungs,” she said.
