In a statement, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the air pollution had reached the severe level and asked people to follow the dos and don'ts as mentioned in the advisory.
The Uttar Pradesh government, citing a scientist, has asserted that Ganga water at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj is as pure as "alkaline water", debunking concerns raised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about water quality. The government claims that a scientist found no bacterial growth or decline in the water's pH level, despite millions of devotees bathing in the river. However, experts caution that the quality of the Ganga water is not static and can vary greatly depending on various factors.
Authorities alerted people to avoid staying outdoors and L-G ordered to halt all civil construction activities across the city till Sunday.
This time, Delhi saw a sharp improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali which can be attributed to intermittent rainfall on Friday and wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
The Indian government has stated that the water in the Ganga river at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj was fit for bathing during the recently concluded Maha Kumbh, citing a new report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The report, however, contradicts an earlier CPCB report that found high faecal coliform levels at several locations in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh. The government also highlighted measures taken to ensure water quality during the event, including the installation of sewage treatment plants and the use of advanced oxidation techniques to treat wastewater.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked all the states to explain within six weeks as to why they should not be made liable to pay compensation to persons affected by bad air quality saying it is their bounden duty to provide basic civic amenities, clean air and drinking water to citizens.
Top officials of the environment ministry, Delhi Development Authority and municipal commissioners also stayed away from the deliberations.
The Ganga water at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, where lakhs of people are taking a holy dip every day during the ongoing Maha Kumbh, is currently unsafe for bathing as it exceeds the prescribed limit for biological oxygen demand (BOD), a key parameter to determine water quality, according to government data.
E-waste accounts for 70 per cent of Indian landfills.
The problem is so severe that multiple agencies have issued several precautionary measures.
Violation of the ban will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, they said. For effective enforcement of the ban, national and state-level control rooms have been set up and special enforcement teams formed to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned SUP items, officials in the ministry said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the 'country's first smog tower' at Connaught Place in New Delhi on Monday and said it will prove to be a milestone and many such structures can be installed in the city if the pilot project yields results.
Less than six months ago, Delhi was gasping for breath. Authorities said air quality had reached "unbearable levels". Schools were shut, flights were diverted, and people were asked to wear masks, avoid polluted areas and keep doors and windows closed. But during the lockdown that began on Mar 22, the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particles in a cubic metre of air averaged at 44.18, according to a Reuters analysis of government data, indicating a rare "good" rating, the safest level on the scale.
Pollution levels were inching towards 'severe plus emergency' category due to a change in wind direction and rampant stubble burning in neighbouring states
Govt has done away with the need to secure crucial permits.
Cars with engine capacity of 2000 cc and above will not be registered in Delhi and National Capital Region till March 31, 2016
NHRC issues notices to Centre and governments of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, saying 'the state cannot leave its citizens to die due to the toxic haze.'
A number of persons fainted after experiencing 'burning sensation' in their throat and chest. Many people who were asleep woke up in panic and scurried out of their homes and alerted neighbours and all of them soon reached the main roads unsure of what to do.
The ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) items kicks in from Friday, with state governments initiating an enforcement campaign to identify and close down units engaging in production, distribution, stocking and sale of such items, officials said. Though several manufacturers have said they are not prepared to implement the ban due to a lack of alternatives, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had on Tuesday said the government had given enough time to the industry and the general public to prepare for the ban on SUP items and it hopes for everyone's cooperation in implementing it from July 1. Violation of the ban will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, officials in the Union environment ministry said.
The air quality in Delhi is turning worse, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
There is a proposal to term forests as areas so notified and not include plantations on private land.
The environment ministry is likely to soon issue regulations that will mandate automakers to recycle a specified percentage of steel from old vehicles, starting from the next financial year, according to people familiar with the matter. "We recently held a meeting with members of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam). "The final regulations are likely to be issued in the next 10 days," a government source informed.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to expand the eight-hour night-time ban period on bursting of crackers and voiced unhappiness over the government's failure to run a campaign to create public awareness during Diwali time on the ill-effects of fireworks.
The air quality in Delhi remained poor Sunday with drop in wind speed even as authorities predicted further fall in air quality index of the national capital in the coming days.
The United States embassy's pollution monitor recorded 'hazardous' air quality with the index scoring an alarming 878, which the mission considers 'beyond its air quality index' (AQI), which ends at 500.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta also directed the Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board to place before it the data of pollution in Delhi from October till November 14 this year. The bench also directed them to submit pollution data from October 1 to December 31, 2018.
Acentral panel directed authorities to ban the plying of 4-wheeled diesel LMVs in Delhi and adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the capital.
Stating that 'we cannot...infuse creativity in your bureaucracy', the apex court warned it will have to do something extraordinary if the authorities failed to control pollution.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that primary schools will be closed from Saturday in view of spike in pollution levels in the national capital.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Delhi government's order putting a comprehensive ban on manufacturing, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city, saying people's health is important.
Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs dropped to the severe category again on Wednesday morning, with smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital.
A parliamentary panel has noted that Yamuna river seems "dirtier" than before despite Rs 6,500 crore having been spent on its clean-up even as a project to lay interceptor sewers along the three major drains of Delhi suffers delays.
As visibility remained poor and the city choked due to a haze, the Centre for Science and Environment asked the Delhi govt to roll out stringent plans for controlling winter pollution.
The Manali-Leh National Highway-3 was blocked after heavy rainfall triggered landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Friday.
For deciding which vehicles are to be scrapped, the setting up of fitness centres and regulating them would be a humongous task.
The Madhya Pradesh high court in Jabalpur on Monday directed the state government to take steps within six weeks for disposal of Bhopal-based Union Carbide's 337 tonnes of hazardous waste as per safety protocols, while restraining the media from publishing any fake news on the same.
'If businessmen should be included in the political process -- which is essential in my opinion -- they need to have the freedom to express themselves and to take stands against the government of the day, without fear of reprisals and attacks on their business.'
The NGT directed the Delhi govt not to implement the scheme unless it established that it was not counter-productive.
Sanitation is always clubbed with other departments, which lead to its neglect, says Devanik Saha.
Closure of tanneries pulls down domestic finished leather exports and local price of raw-skin.
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