Restrictions imposed in the Indian capital and its surrounding areas following the “Severe” air pollution were partially lifted on Sunday as the quality of air improved to the “Very Poor” category during the day in Delhi.
The restrictions were imposed three days ago. Now the entry of diesel vehicles into Delhi would be allowed, and the ban on construction and demolition activities in linear public projects such as highways, roads and bridges would be lifted.
These activities were banned under Level 4 – the highest of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which contains orders regarding what plan of action ought to be taken if air quality worsened beyond a certain level.
“As the present AQI level of Delhi is around 339 which is about 111 AQI points below the threshold for invoking the GRAP Stage-IV actions (Delhi AQI > 450) and preventive/ mitigative/ restrictive actions under all stages up to Stage-IV are underway, there is a likelihood of sustaining the improvement in Air Quality Index (AQI),” as per the statement issued by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
People in Delhi have been bearing the brunt of air pollution for the past few days, with cases of chest infections and respiratory problems have been on the rise.
A recent survey has found nearly 80 percent of the families living in the Indian capital region had someone suffering from air pollution-related ailments, and that as many as 18 percent of them had already visited a doctor or a hospital.
