Air quality worsens in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi's air quality worsened on Sunday as weak winds trapped pollutants, raising the overall AQI to 366 in the "very poor" category with three monitoring stations recording readings above 400 in the "severe" category, Centre Pollution Control Board data showed.
The PM2.5 concentration stood at 189.6 micrograms per cubic metre and PM10 at 316. PM2.5 refers to fine inhalable particles with diameters that are 2.5 micrometres or smaller, while PM10 includes slightly larger particles up to 10 micrometres in diameter, as per CPCB.
At such levels, these pollutants can cause breathing discomfort, especially among people with lung or heart diseases, children and the elderly.
The overall AQI rose sharply from 303 recorded a day earlier, CPCB data showed.
Neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) also reported "very poor" air quality -- Ghaziabad (351), Gurugram (357), Noida (348) and Greater Noida (340). Faridabad, however, recorded a "poor" AQI of 215.
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi, the wind speed dropped below 8 kmph from the northwest direction during the evening and night hours, reducing the dispersion of pollutants.
It added that a ventilation index lower than 6,000 m ²/s and wind speeds less than 10 kmph are unfavourable for pollutant dispersal.
The air quality is likely to remain in the "very poor" category till November 4, the AQEWS said.
Three monitoring stations in the city recorded "severe" air quality with readings above 400, with Wazirpur reporting the highest level at 413.
Another 28 stations registered "very poor" air quality with readings above 300, as per CPCB's Sameer app.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor" and 401-500 "severe", according to CPCB standards.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 30.7 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below the seasonal average, while the minimum settled at 16.8 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The humidity stood at 75 per cent at 5.30 PM.
The weather office has forecast shallow fog on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 30 and 15 degrees Celsius, respectively.
A ban on the entry of commercial goods vehicles not registered here and not compliant with BS-III or lower emission standards came into force in the national capital on November 1.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
ALSO READ: Search operation ends in Anjaw truck accident, 20 bodies recovered
The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
ALSO READ: National Herald case: Shivakumar to seek time next week to appear before Delhi police
"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
