[anjan_c2007]

The scrapped or not street legal anymore private cars' and bikes' ghosts (not fictional but how I wish at least that these machine's had ghosts) must be wailing as even the fit ones from amongst these were discarded due to cranky and quixotic decisions by the judiciary and executive. That was merely due to these machines having attained the age of 10/15 years!

Our sympathies with the helpless owners who had/or have to unwillingly part company with their trusted machines, under the false pretext of diktats from a bunch of ill informed people (who hold key positions) that the NCR AQI and the atmosphere will get cleaner.

[IRideScent]

Pollution in north India is constant problem, intensified during winters. Tier II cities of gangetic plains not having big industries suffer from high pollution. Although it's getting worse year after year.

However Mr Gadkari is saying within five years Water, Air & noise pollution of Delhi will be contained. A rare politician who is true to his words. Watch from 40:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY1vf2AsNuk

[DaiusPitar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Experienced it first-hand over a winter visit. For the first time ever in life, I had my eyes burning and throat sore from Delhi's roads. Never going again in winter especially & even if I do, will try my best to avoid congested areas. It was awful.

Agreed, i am originally from Mumbai and have stayed previously in Bangalore and Chennai before moving to Noida. On this part, I regard my decision as one of the worst. It does help that I restrict movement out of the house without N95 masks and have air purifiers in every room.

Having said, there are two trends I got to know of. This is no longer restricted to the Northern gangetic plains. The pollution cloud that hovers over this area is spreading and the fringes of this cloud approached Kolkata last year. I didnt check the status this year but I only imagine this has spread further southward.

The other is this: https://theprint.in/environment/why-...speed/1301645/

I remember sending an AQI screenshot when both cities had AQIs in the 300+ range and Mumbai was only 20 points lower.

The point is not that Delhi is fine, it is pitiable that the capital region undergoes this. Instead, I fear this is becoming a larger pan Indian problem in front of our eyes and definitely not slowly...

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by am1m

That's reassuring, thanks! Is it because of the larger green cover (relatively, still for a big city)?

Just realized, it probably has a lot to do with the elevation of 920m. Is that correct?

Actually, neither. Delhi is also very green. Greenery has no bearing on pollution. The simple fact is that Bangalore has very low industrial activity, so low combustion. There are only 2 industrial areas - Peenya and Bommasandra - and AQI is worse there. What is high in BLR is vehicular pollution because BLR is the only city where the buses and cabs (50% of traffic) are diesel instead of CNG / LPG.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

There are 11 coal power plants in 300km radius from Delhi. They contribute to 52% of NOx and 90% of SO2 emissions in Delhi. 5 of them were shut last year on winter due to their impact on pollution.

A majority of them will continue to pollute as normal until 2024, because their deadline to become more efficient has been extended by the environment ministry.

The stubble burning occurs because the laws that allow water use and planting of the second crop changed some years ago, leaving farmers with a very short window to clear the old crop and replant. This occurred because PB and HR's water tables dropped drastically. This occurred because PB and HR overindex on rice and paddy as cash crops - there is very little local consumption. Solution - eat less rice across India.

[Old_Salt]

I do hear this a lot, why don’t you move out of Delhi? And like most people, the short term disadvantages outweighs the long term advantage.

Choosing a new city, locality, house, rental or owned, shifting jobs for yourself and spouse, new schools for kids, if elderly parents, how will they adjust, etc etc.

I am sure every Delhiite during winters goes through these motions and as the winter dies so does the urge to relocate, till the next winters and the same vicious cycle starts.

[vredesbyrd]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

It WAS banned. But lakhs of farmers decided they are above the law and continued burning stubble. Then they sat on the roads and forced govt. to make this legal. So, it is no longer a criminal offence. There is a fine of Rs. 2500 - Rs. 15000 per instance of stubble burning; but the last time a surveyor went to check he was held hostage by the farmers.
.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The scrapped or not street legal anymore private cars' and bikes' ghosts (not fictional but how I wish at least that these machine's had ghosts) must be wailing as even the fit ones from amongst these were discarded due to cranky and quixotic decisions by the judiciary and executive. That was merely due to these machines having attained the age of 10/15 years!

Going by what I've heard, Delhi has stopped selling BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel for a short while.
If this continues with the same government and no concerns or outcry from the people then expect a 10 year old petrol and 5 year old diesel ban soon.

Oh how I fantasize members of NGT getting sent to jail for life because of the 10/15 rule.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by GTO

Experienced it first-hand over a winter visit. For the first time ever in life, I had my eyes burning and throat sore from Delhi's roads. Never going again in winter especially...

Can't say I didn't know exactly what would happen because 'been there, done that' before, but the lure of the Auto Expo got the better of me.

Sitting here coughing up my lungs since I got back Friday. Bangalore's become terribly dusty, compounding the misery.

[revvharder]

For anyone suffering from nasal allergy/cough/runny nose like symptoms while visiting Delhi-NCR i would recommend them to use Patanjali Swasari Vati, i myself suffer from severe nasal allergies and even the allopathic medicine would work for limited hours and if i would forget to take it on time the sneeze attacks and runny nose would start.

[noblebeam]

Originally Posted by GTO

Experienced it first-hand over a winter visit. For the first time ever in life, I had my eyes burning and throat sore from Delhi's roads. Never going again in winter especially & even if I do, will try my best to avoid congested areas. It was awful.

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As a person living in Delhi since 2012, It's normal for me. I can't feel any suffocation or burning sensation. However, when someone from my family comes to Delhi, they tell me how deadly it feels to breathe here. And it's quite disheartening to hear that. Planning to leave Delhi and move to Dehradun by 2024.

[cdrajeevkumar]

Wherever you go in india this is bound to happen! Be it Delhi / Pune / Bangalore the same situation persists. I had to leave Delhi as my hospital trips increased during 2020-2021 for blocked lungs and respiratory issues! Relocated to Thane but it’s far from over! Major construction works and vehicular pollution continues!

Perhaps some action will be initiated when the country is labeled “inhospitable”. Sadly all we can do is just wait and watch this unfold at an alarming pace.

[MaheshY1]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

We never know, we are seeing someday AQI levels above 400, may be without the ban it will be all days above 400 in winters. Anyway replacing a BS3 car with BS6 car will not make the city cleaner, as the number of cars are also increasing.

Age doesn't decide the pollution a vehicle causes. Let's say I run a commercial diesel vehicle, which covers 200km in Delhi. My vehicle's downtime costs me money. So, I could choose to stretch the service and maintenance intervals. By the time it reaches 1.5 - 2.0 lakh km, it's causing more pollution.

On the other hand, even a well-maintained BS3 diesel vehicle, which covers only an average of 10km a day will cause far less damage. Naturally, BS4 will cause even less damage.

So, age was never a good solution. It was the easiest solution. It should depend on maintenance, actual pollution levels in PUC test, and typical driving. But nobody wants to fix the PUC machines and reprimand the people working there. You can't track km covered without a centralized database at all service centers.

It's a shame that I can get a PUCC without even running the test on my vehicle's silencer. How confident are you that the PUC machine even works? Do you trust those exhaust numbers to be accurate?

Moreover, the age-based restriction was a gift back to the auto industry, which had to go through a rapid transition to BS6 and a rough transition to BS4 because of the communication gap.

[himanshu_trikha]

You faithfully is born ,brought-up and educated in Delhi ,working in Delhi was a de- facto choice.

Grew-up , married and have two young kids now along with parents who are ageing.This season is particularly bad ,almost whole of my family has dry allergic cough for which doctors are blaming pollution despite the fact that we run a total of 6 air-purifiers along with humidifiers at home.

Delhi is situated at an adverse climatic zone with no carbon dump bodies like sea or rivers (Yamuna is a drain and not river by its BOD/COD levels ).Modified crops ,late ripening time,stubble burning and stagnant air at that time of year ,all adds to the mayhem.

Cherry on top is unscientific decisions like ban vehicles overnight without checking their contribution to pollution.No solution is in sight, with a lot on political fights and AAP vs BJP headlocks, perhaps it would be wise to leave Delhi after all these years, the city is choking seriously.

Sad,
Himanshu

[navrddy]

Funny thing, few years back, some consultancy from NCR region offered good job opening, I Rejected it saying that even if I get 2 or 3x salary, I will not come to NCR due to pollution levels.
Life is more important than money, especially quality of life is much more important.

[maddy42]

Pretty sickening to keep hearing it and seeing a political football played by multiple stakeholders on this issue. Can we have a brainstorming on what is the root cause and fixes for it?

What are some of the solutions which could reduce this?
Banning diesel vehicles doesnt seem to have done the magic or banning fireworks may not be enough.
Reduced coal power plants in the ncr region, garbage burning and effective disposal of garbage, banning stubble burning, increase plantation coverage may be a effective solution afaik.

A wonderful graph on population density will open the eyes of a lot of us who are not from the region. Delhi and the surrounding regions and states have almost 70% of our population density in comparison to the rest of the country.

[pioneer_rags]

It's disheartening to see North Indian states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, & parts of - Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Madhyapradesh have severe Air Pollution. There should be an urgency and seriousness to address the issue as it affects the health of everyone living in North India. It will be a costly mistake if we keep ignoring the problem.

The solution to this problem should be addressed from Multiple Angles.

1. Lets us first accept that the solution can only be addressed by science. The Government of India needs to invest crores in developing a scientific community that deals with environmental issues. I am not sure if they have a separate department for this. CPCB as a compliance body should only act on this scientific advice.

With respect to Air Pollution, we are only following the research done by USEPA. I am not sure if we have a research institute for Air Pollution. For example, the very idea of PM2.5 measured in micrograms per cubic meter is based on historical data on pollution in the US. Laser instruments which measure PM 2.5 actually measure the number of particles in the range of 0.1 to 2.5 microns in a given volume of air and the density of particles are taken based on data from the US city and then converts into micrograms per cubic meter. Also, the material composition of PM 2.5 in Delhi might be different from LA or Bangalore or Mumbai or Bhopal or Raipur.

We really need to get to the depth of the problem.

2. Political will is required to stop crop burning as it affects the livelihood of farmers. It is this aspect that is stopping politicians from taking strong action.

3. All states irrespective of the party ruled need to cooperate and act in Unison. They should rise above their party and implement solutions.

4. People should change their attitude big time. It's not ok to burn tires to warm themselves. It's not ok to burn dry garbage. It's not ok to use polluting personal vehicles. It's not ok to construct buildings without covering them with sheets (or whatever)

5. Solving the problem of pollution from Goods vehicles also needs strong political will.

My only hope to achieve all these is if pollution - Air, Water become a strong election issue and people desperately want clean Air and water. Unless that happens, this issue will continue and will affect the health of crores of Indians.