China offers help to India in countering Air Pollution in Delhi
New Delhi: Amid New Delhi’s battle with air pollution, China’s spokesperson to India Yu Jing took to X to draw parallels between the air pollution crisis of both countries and added that Beijing stands ready “to share our journey toward blue ones.”
New Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) remained ‘very poor’, ranging over 300 for the past week while other Indian cities too battled rising air pollution due to dust pollution, vehicle emissions among other factors.
According to the IQAir report, three of the top 5 spots in South Asia in the list of most polluted cities were in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“China once struggled with severe smog, too. We stand ready to share our journey toward blue ones and believe India will get there soon,” Yu wrote on X Tuesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s latest data, AQI levels were almost 400 with Kaithal in Haryana and Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh recording ‘Very poor’ levels of 393 and 384 Tuesday. Thootukudi in Tamil Nadu recorded the highest AQI of 486 and was placed in the ‘Severe’ category.
Air pollution accounts for over 2 million deaths per year in India, according to various studies.
China, on its part, had battled a similar crisis in 2013, infamously known as the ‘airpocalypse’. Measures then taken by the Chinese Communist Party-led government included banning new coal-run power plants, limiting car ownership and rolling out all-electric bus fleets.
The government also cut down on iron and steel production and launched an afforestation program with around 35 billion trees being planted across 12 provinces.
“With over $100 billion invested, China’s forestry spending per hectare exceeded that of the US and Europe, tripling the global average,” according to a 2021 report by Earth.Org,
China’s 2013 environment policy the Air Pollution Action Plan, led to Beijing’s PM 2.5 levels dropping down to 33 percent and a reduced concentration of particulate matter down to that of 35 percent.
A follow up to this saw China launch a Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky War in 2018 which covered all cities and aimed to reduce PM2.5 levels by 18 percent across cities. It also tackled ground level ozone, a pollutant produced when volatile organic compounds react with nitrogen oxides and set a reduction target of 10 percent for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 15 percent for nitrogen oxides.
To counter smog, the East Asian country also built ‘the world’s largest air purifier’, a 100 metre long tower in 2018 in Xian. According to reports, it led to a 15 percent decrease in particulate matter in the city.
However, there is a catch. An Economist article also pointed out how China, while cutting its sulphur emissions to tackle the pollution crisis, unintentionally led to an acceleration of global warming. The report states that scientists believe that East and SouthEast Asia, led by China, are now the main contributors to decrease in sulphate aerosols, which help cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight and enhancing cloud formation.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
