Delhi NCR

Less pollution this year on Diwali despite cracker-bursting: Delhi CM

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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday said air pollution in the city on Diwali night was less this year as compared to the previous year.

Her assertion came a day after monitoring stations showed that Delhi’s air pollution hit a four-year high on Diwali, with particulate matter 2.5 peaking at 675.

The chief minister said she will meet a Punjab minister on Thursday to inform the state government about Delhi’s concerns over crop residue burning, a major cause of pollution in the national capital during winters.

“The pre- and post-Diwali gap (between average AQI) this year is less compared to the previous year, even though firecrackers were allowed this time,” Gupta said at a press conference.

She insisted that her government was taking all necessary steps with “greater alertness” to curb pollution.

On Tuesday, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the Air Quality Index in Delhi was 341 before Diwali and it rose to 356 afterwards, up by just 11 points.

The minister also charged that the farmers in Punjab were being “forced and threatened” to burn parali (paddy straw) on Diwali, insinuating a ploy by the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state to send up pollution levels in the city.

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Delhi: Floods expose cracks in Yamuna rejuvenation projects

The recent floods that engulfed the Yamuna floodplains in Delhi have reignited debate over how the city manages its most vital natural asset. Environmental experts and the river advocacy body South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) are demanding accountability from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) after crores of rupees spent on so-called rejuvenation projects were wiped out in the deluge. What was projected as an ambitious ecological restoration drive has, in the wake of the 2025 floods, been exposed as a glaring example of poor planning, disregard for hydrology, and misuse of public funds.

Delhi hospitals report over 250 burn cases on Diwali

More than 250 people suffered burn injuries in Delhi on Diwali, with hospitals across the city reporting a surge in cases, mostly caused by firecrackers, while the Safdarjung Hospital, which has the country’s largest burn unit, recorded the highest number of 129 cases. After the Safdarjung Hospital, 55 burn cases were reported at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), 37 at the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, 16 at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital and 15 at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital.

PTI

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Tags: Delhi CM

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