India News
Delhi air pollution reaches Hazardous levels before Diwali, both PM10 and PM2.5 above 600
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After a day’s brief respite, New Delhi’s air quality deteriorated today (Monday, November 5) with pollution level breaching the ‘hazardous’ category. The Air Quality Index (AQI) around Mandir Marg recorded PM 10 levels at 707 and PM 2.5 at 663, while PM 10 levels were 681 and 676 around Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, respectively, news agency ANI tweeted.
This is way more than 20 times the safe limit prescribed by the WHO.
AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. It was hovering between 650-700 on Monday.
Sunday had brought a short-lived relief to Delhiites when the pollution level came down to ‘poor’ category after oscillating between ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ for days. The overall AQI was recorded at 231 on Sunday which falls in the ‘poor’ category.
The System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) on Saturday predicted deterioration of air quality in the city from Monday. Warning that the high level of moisture in Delhi’s atmosphere and a fall in temperature and upper winds from stubble burning sites will “adversely impact air quality,” the report said “AQI will touch the upper level of very poor from November 5 afternoon onwards” as per the SAFAR-forecasting model.
Meanwhile, schools in Delhi have moved the morning assembly of students indoors and made it mandatory for them to wear masks during outdoor activities. Few schools in the NCR region have also started distributing gooseberries to students, which, according to health experts, minimize effects of air pollution on lungs.
The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has urged Delhiites to use public transport for the first 10 days of November to keep a check on pollution. Noting that private vehicles contribute to 40 per cent pollution in Delhi-NCR, the EPCA urged people to reduce the use of private vehicles during this period and use public transport or other means.
The contribution of stubble-burning to pollution in the national capital is expected to be 24 per cent today, said an NDTV report quoting a weather official.
An aggressive 10-day-long ‘Clean Air Campaign’ from November 1-10 has also been launched to monitor and report polluting activities as well as to ensure quick action.
A penalty of over Rs 83 lakh was imposed on violators in a single day on Sunday by the teams deployed to monitor implementation of measures to combat pollution in the Delhi NCR under the Clean Air Campaign, the CPCB said.
The highest number of complaints related to illegal construction and demolition activities.
An aggressive ten-day-long ‘Clean Air Campaign’ from November 1 to 10 has been launched by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan to monitor and report polluting activities as well as to ensure quick action.
These teams are visiting different parts of Delhi and adjacent towns of Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida.
Based on 368 complaints, a total fine of Rs 83,55,000 was imposed on Sunday itself by 52 teams in the national capital, said the Central Pollution Control Board.
A total of 119 complaints of construction and demolition activities were received. Other complaints included that of vehicular emission, traffic congestion, industrial emission, open or garbage burning, leaf burning, road dust, unpaved road, fire in landfill sites, air pollution from generators among others, it said.
A total of 52 complaints were received through social media and e-mail while 316 complaints were received through the ‘Sameer app’ that has been developed by the CPCB.
About 43 teams visited sites of 248 complaints in Delhi while two teams attended to 11 complaints in Gurgaon, two teams to 31 complaints in Faridabad, two teams to 5 complaints in Noida and Greater Noida and three teams for 21 complaints in Ghaziabad.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has also directed the Transport Department and the Traffic Police to intensify checking of polluting vehicles and control travel congestion in the region during November 1-10.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
PM Modi to announce projects worth Rs 13,500 crore in Telangana today
Both the BRS and the Congress, according to Prime Minister Modi, are dynastic parties that don’t care about the needs of the general public.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is today expected to hold a rally in Telangana, which is up for election. The Telangana people are bored of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) lacklustre governance, and they are equally distrustful of the Congress, according to the Prime Minister, who announced his visit to the state.
Both the BRS and the Congress, according to Prime Minister Modi, are dynastic parties that don’t care about the needs of the general public.
Taking to X, formerly known Twitter, PM Modi tweeted on Saturday, he will be addressing a Telangana rally in Mahbubnagar tomorrow, October 1. The people of Telangana are tired of the lacklustre governance of BRS. They are equally distrustful of Congress.
During his visit to Telangana, Prime Minister Modi will also lay the cornerstones for numerous development projects worth more than Rs 13,500 crore and dedicate them to the country.
PM Modi wrote on X, he is looking forward to being in Mahbubnagar tomorrow, October 1 to launch and lay the foundation stones for development works worth over Rs. 13,500 crore.
According to him, these initiatives span a variety of industries, including roadways, connectivity, energy, railroads, and more.
The Prime Minister claimed that they will be very helpful to the people of Telangana.
The 108 km long four lane access controlled greenfield highway from Warangal to Khammam and the 90 km long four lane access controlled greenfield highway from Khammam to Vijayawada section of NH-163G will both have their foundation stones laid by PM Modi as part of the Nagpur-Vijayawada Economic Corridor.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated in a statement that the overall cost of these road improvements will be around Rs 6,400 crore.
The 59-kilometer-long portion of NH-365BB from Suryapet to Khammam will be four-laned, and Prime Minister Modi will dedicate this project to the nation.
The project, which was constructed for roughly Rs. 2,460 crore as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, runs along the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam Corridor.
37 km of the Jaklair-Krishna New Railway Line will also be dedicated by the prime minister. The new rail line stretch, which was constructed at a cost of more than Rs 500 crore, officially places portions of the underdeveloped Narayanpet district on the railway’s map.
India News
PM Modi says change in government certain in Chhattisgarh
According to PM Modi, the second Parivartan Yatra was launched from Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh on September 15 while the first one left Dantewada in south Chhattisgarh on September 12.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the closing ceremony of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) two Parivartan Yatras in Bilaspur. This is PM Modi’s third trip to the state, which is governed by the Congress and will host assembly elections later this year.
The Prime Minister attacked the Bhupesh Baghel-led governance during a public rally by claiming that Chhattisgarh is steeped in corruption and misrule. Every plan of the Congress government contains a fraud.
According to PM Modi, the second Parivartan Yatra was launched from Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh on September 15 while the first one left Dantewada in south Chhattisgarh on September 12.
Before reaching their conclusion in Bilaspur, both yatras covered a distance of more than 3,000 km over 87 assembly segments (out of the total 90), he said, and included 83 Swagat Sabhas (welcome gatherings), four roadshows, and several public meetings.
The Maoist-affected districts of Bijapur, Sukma, and Antagarh are not on the schedule, although residents from these districts participated in the yatra when it went through their neighbouring districts.
The party officials and employees spirits were unaffected by the rain, he said, and they joyfully took part in the two yatras, which attracted a large number of people.
According to Sao, who expressed confidence that the Congress will be defeated in the 2019 elections, the two yatras, in which almost 50 lakh people participated, have converted the tide of change into a storm.
The program’s location has been heavily fortified with security, according to the police. There will be a total of 1,500 security personnel deployed, including police officers, members of the Special Protection Group (SPG), members of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force, and members of the National Security Guard (NSG).
According to a police, a three-kilometer radius around the city has been designated a no-fly zone, and anti-drone weaponry have also been deployed in anticipation of the PM’s visit.
The Congress gave the BJP, which had been in power for 15 years under Raman Singh, a crushing loss in the 2018 assembly elections. The BJP had only won 15 seats, while the Congress had won 68. There are 71 seats in the current Congress.
India News
Punjab: Farmer’s rail roko protest enters 3rd day, disrupts train services
Many trains have been cancelled, short-terminated, or diverted as a result of the unrest, according to railway officials.
The rail roko protest of Punjabi farmers demanding MSP legal protection, a broad debt relief, and compensation for crops damaged in the recent floods began its third day today.
Many trains have been cancelled, short-terminated, or diverted as a result of the unrest, according to railway officials.
As part of their three-day agitation, the farmers have been blocking railway tracks at various locations in Faridkot, Samrala, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar since Thursday.
In Punjab and Haryana, the protest has halted hundreds of rail passengers.
A train passenger at the Ludhiana station claimed that he had travelled by road from Jalandhar City in order to board a train to Gorakhpur, but the arrival time of the train was unknown.
Another passenger at the station claimed that the Amritsar-bound train that was scheduled to carry 12 members of his family to Bihar had to be cancelled due to the unrest.
Later, they discovered that the family had journeyed by road from Amritsar and that the train would leave from Ludhiana. He continued, however, there has still been no update on the train.
According to officials, the Ambala and Ferozepur railway divisions have suffered specifically as a result of the farmers’ unrest.
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari), Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Azaad), Azaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, Bharti Kisan Union (Behramke), Bharti Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), and Bharti Kisan Union (Chottu Ram) are among the farmer organisations taking part in the three-day demonstration.
The angry farmers have stated that the three-day protest will end on Saturday.
Their requests include a financial aid package for those in north India hit by floods, a statutory guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, and a farmer debt forgiveness programme.
The Swaminathan Commission report’s proposals for MSP and a 50,000 crore flood relief package for the states of northern India are what the farmers are asking for.
In addition, they want the debt of all farmers and labourers to be forgiven, as well as compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for the families of each farmer killed during the protests against the three farm laws that have since been repealed.
