'Buses coming from UP, Haryana...': Minister Gopal Rai on why pollution is increasing in Delhi
Track our LIVE AQI coverage here “In Delhi and in the whole of North India, there is an increase in the level of PM2.5, and that of PM10 is decreasing in pollution. All the buses in Delhi are CNG. But the buses coming from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and other adjoining areas are diesel, due to which pollution is increasing," he told the agency.
On steps being taken, the minister said that Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has directed that only CNG, electric, and BS-VI buses would be permitted from November 1. "We talked today with drivers and officials here and got to know that there are diesel buses here. The transportation department will check different entry points starting November 1," he said.
“People in Delhi have to suffer because of pollution in nearby areas. It is our demand from the central government and governments of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to ban diesel buses in the NCR," he added. Also Read: The air quality struggles of Delhi and Mumbai, explained in charts As of 1 pm today, the average AQI in Noida stood above 326,; it was at 344 in Delhi airport (T3), 354 in Delhi University, and 350 in Dhirpur.
The air quality in Mumbai stood at 139 which is in ‘moderate’ category. As per SAFAR, AQI in Andheri stood at 104, 165 in Malad, 139 in Malad. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city, by measuring the overall pollution level and the location-specific air quality of the city.
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