• Source:JND
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Delhi Pollution Protest: A day after Delhi’s air quality plunged further into the ‘severe’ category, crossing the 400 mark on the Air Quality Index (AQI), hundreds of citizens including parents, environmentalists and activists gathered at India Gate on Sunday to demand urgent government intervention. However, the protest, held without prior permission, led to several detentions by the Delhi Police.

According to officials, the gathering was not authorised. “There was no permission to hold a protest at the India Gate. To maintain law and order and ensure there is no obstruction in security arrangements, some people were detained,” a police officer said. DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla confirmed that the detentions were “preventive in nature,” adding that Jantar Mantar remains the only designated protest site in the national capital.

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Despite the police action, protesters continued to voice their anger over worsening pollution levels. Many mothers joined the demonstration with their children, calling for immediate measures to curb toxic air.

Environmental activist Bhavreen Khandari, who was part of the protest, said, “We want to meet our elected officials. We had sought an appointment with the chief minister but were refused. So many parents are here because their children are suffering.” She added, “Every third child already has damaged lungs; they will live nearly 10 years less than those growing up in cleaner air.”

Another protester, Abhishek, expressed frustration at the lack of government accountability. “During (former chief minister) Sheila Dikshit’s term, Delhi was known as a green capital. Today, it ranks among the most polluted cities in the world. Politicians keep blaming each other instead of taking responsibility,” he said.

The protesters said their aim was not political but to push authorities to act against what they called a “public health emergency.”

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AAP Extends Support, Accuses Govt of ‘Data Manipulation’

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) extended support to the movement. AAP national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar accused the city’s BJP government of denial. “People of Delhi are angry because the government of the national capital is in denial. They are not accepting that there is pollution. The BJP government should have been with the people on the ground and not manipulating the data,” she told PTI.

Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed similar sentiments, calling the demonstration a “non-political citizens’ protest.” “Many well-educated and knowledgeable people have joined it because there is a trust deficit. When a government itself tampers with data, it creates a trust deficit, and that’s why the intellectual community has taken to the streets today,” he said.

(With Inputs From PTI)

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