-Daily Pioneer Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday turned into a gas chamber with the pollution levels reaching an all-time high, leading to burning of eyes, breathing problems and choked throats forcing people to stay indoors to avoid the hazardous toxic air. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who said that the national Capital had become like a “gas chamber” due to the pollution, met Union Environment Minister Anil...

-The Hindu Cheaper combine harvesters have replaced expensive farm labour but leave behind stubble Bali Ram, a 39-year-old farmer from Kaimla village in Karnal, around 120 km from Delhi, did not burn the paddy stubble in his fields this year for fear of being penalised. Despite the extra cost, he decided to plough his land with a tractor to get rid of the plant stalks. However, he conceded that most of the villagers...

-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...

-PTI New Delhi: As pollution levels worsened in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said schools in the city will remain closed till Wednesday and announced a raft of “emergency” measures to deal with the situation including ban on construction and demolition activities for the next five days and temporary closure of the Badarpur Power Plant. Emerging from an emergency cabinet meet, Kejriwal said the government will discuss with the Centre the...

-The Hindu The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural Waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter...