-The Hindu As I write this column, my gaze is on the post-Deepavali haze that has enveloped Delhi. As a third-generation asthmatic, with a fourth-generation asthmatic daughter, it is set me wondering whether returning to Delhi, the city of my birth, from the United States a decade ago was a mistake. This haze is smog (smoke + fog), a hazardous mix of noxious gases and very high levels of suspended respirable...
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Punjab: Farmers to escape fines for burning crops due to upcoming polls -Baishali Adak
-Mail Today "We do not wish to risk upsetting farmers just ahead of the polls," the Punjab agriculture department officials said. Punjab has pleaded helplessness on the farm fire menace clearly citing the impending Assembly elections in March-April 2017. Members of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) told Mail Today that at two recent meetings, Punjab agriculture department officials prayed they may be excused from fining farmers for burning paddy...
More »Delhi chokes on worst Nov smog in many years
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Delhiites woke up to apocalyptic grey skies as a heavy smog hung over the city on Wednesday, reducing visibility to its lowest for the month of November in many years. The air quality was so poor that it was comparable to the post-Diwali spike in pollution. The air quality index for 4pm on November 2 was 432, in the "severe" category, while the index on...
More »Punjab says no money for technology to stop crop burning -Rohan Dua
-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: There is little chance of any let-up in air pollution in Punjab and the states of Delhi and Haryana post-Diwali as Punjab has expressed its inability to provide farmers money for alternative technology, citing lack of funds. Following a rebuke from National Green Tribunal (NGT) on paddy burning last week, a cash-starved Punjab government has told the Centre that it does not have the money to implement...
More »Delhi's air quality at season's worst, staying indoors advised
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Delhi's air quality recorded "severe" levels on Saturday, a day before Diwali. A pall of smog was hanging over the city since morning. As forecast by IMD and SAFAR, the wind speed was very low, touching zero at times, which caused pollutants to accumulate very close to the surface. The Delhi government, meanwhile, blamed the high pollution levels on the farm stubble burning in Punjab and...
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