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Did the words "Haze Khas", "Dhuan Kuan" and "Chandni Choke" ring a bell? Yes, there's a pun intended in these words which refer to the names of a few areas in "Pollutyens' (read Lutyens') Delhi". Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share this witty take on the air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR on Friday.
In what he said is not his "own creation", Tharoor posted images of signboard on the social media platform, with a caption saying, "This is going around WhatsApp as exasperated Delhiites choke and splutter under an AQI of 462, nearly 19 times the WHO safe limit of 25."
In an apparent refence to the "Kartvya Path" in Delhi, Tharoor went to quote another remark, "...no wonder the government has renamed the main road the Martavya Path!"
Thick smog and haze choked Delhi on Friday as the air quality in the city plummeted to the "severe plus" category in the morning. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) skyrocketed from 351 at 10 am on Thursday to 471 at 9 am on Friday.
This reflected a sudden increase in pollution levels due to highly unfavourable meteorological conditions and a sharp spike in stubble burning incidents in neighbouring states.
In the wake of the rising air pollution situation, the Delhi government and other agencies invoked stage III of pollution control plan, deploying anti-smog guns and re-launching the 'Red light on, Gaadi off' campaign.
According to a Delhi government official, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage 3 has been implemented in the national capital with a complete ban on construction or demolition activities.
The Centre's pollution control panel invoked the GRAP III on Thursday, directing a halt on non-essential construction work, stone crushing and mining in Delhi-NCR. Under this stage, restrictions are also imposed on the operation of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced closure of all government and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed two days, starting November 2.
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