Air quality in Delhi and surrounding areas dropped to “severe” on Saturday (Archive)
New Delhi:
Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal celebrated Diwali on Saturday bid in the Akshardham temple in the national capital. He was joined by his wife Sunita Kejriwal and his assistant, Manish Sisodia, in the televised ritual.
The images showed Mr. Kejriwal and his wife sitting with their hands clasped as a priest performs the ritual. Manish Sisodia, Senior Deputy Minister of Delhi, sits across from them.
Earlier today, Mr. Kejriwal, who is leading the national capital’s fight against suffocating pollution, appealed to the residents of Delhi to virtually join him in the bid. “The two crore of Delhi will perform Diwali together they bid and chant mantras today at 7.39pm, which will be broadcast live. Let’s be a part of Diwali in Delhi, “he tweeted in Hindi.
The Delhi government has imposed a complete ban on the sale, purchase and explosion of firecrackers until November 30, in light of rising pollution levels and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had also appealed to the masses not to explode firecrackers, in a televised speech, earlier this week.
Air quality in Delhi and surrounding areas fell to “severe” on Saturday as people defied a ban on lighting Diwali firecrackers in various areas, compounding pollution caused by burning agricultural waste in neighboring states.
The city posted an Overall Air Quality Index, or AQI, of 414 on Saturday, which falls in the “severe” category. The 24-hour average AQI was 339 on Friday and 314 on Thursday.
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