Devendra Yadav Slams Delhi Government Amid Worsening Air Quality Crisis

Congress leader Devendra Yadav has hit out at the Delhi government for failing to curb rising air pollution, highlighting the surge in hospital patients suffering from poor air quality as AQI levels remain dangerously high across the capital.

Congress Leader Targets Delhi Govt Over Air Crisis

Delhi Congress leader Devendra Yadav on Wednesday criticised the government over the worsening air pollution in the national capital, alleging that no effective steps had been taken to control pollution. He made the remarks after visiting Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), where he met patients affected by poor air quality. “The situation in Delhi is constantly getting worse due to pollution. And it seems like the government has left the public to the mercy of God. We’re currently at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, and we’ve met with some patients here. The situation is very bad," Yadav said.

Rising Health Concerns and Hospital Admissions

Yadav claimed that the number of patients visiting the hospital had been rising over the past few days since Diwali and described the pollution situation as extremely serious. “Since Diwali, and if I say even before that, there has been absolutely no check on the pollution, and it just keeps increasing. The government hasn’t made any effort to reduce it. Because of this, the people living here are leading a life that is worse than hell. In the past few days, the number of patients here has been steadily rising," he said.

He said the situation has worsened a lot here and people travelling to Delhi are being affected by the pollution, highlighting a case where a woman who came from Mumbai for just 2 days could not speak, let alone get up and walk due to pollution. “We’re trying to help those who are asthmatic or affected by the bad air, including some locals and some people from out of town. The condition is so bad that we just met a patient who had come all the way from Mumbai. She arrived two days ago to attend a wedding, but due to the severe air pollution, she fainted and she couldn’t even speak, let alone get up and walk. We spoke to her attendant, who told us she suddenly fainted and has been admitted to the hospital for the last two days. This is the situation across Delhi.”

Lack of Long-Term Solutions

Yadav also criticised the government over its response to the pollution crisis and referred to reports of extremely high Air Quality Index (AQI) levels, alleging that the government did not focus on any permanent solution for the last 12-13 years. “On paper, this government is constantly meditating. But we all saw the AQI reach 1700 to 2000. This is the condition of Delhi over the last 12-13 years because no permanent solution was ever focused on. This situation has arisen because of that. I remember when the Congress government was in power, we worked to increase the green cover. I remember when buses used to run on diesel, causing pollution. It was the Congress government that decided to phase that out and switch to CNG. Similarly, it was the Congress government that converted people dependent on kerosene to LPG. They worked to improve public transport. They did, but no such efforts are being made by the current government or the previous Aam Aadmi Party government, which ruled Delhi for about 12 years. No one paid attention to this, and the situation in Delhi has been continuously worsening,” he alleged.

He further criticised BJP leaders over their statements and activities related to the Yamuna, alleging that the government was focused on announcements rather than addressing pollution. “But the BJP, stubbornly sticking to its own agenda, it makes me ashamed; the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders talk about running a cruise on the Yamuna just for drama. I feel ashamed of those BJP leaders who make a big show of taking a dip in Sonia Vihar. I challenged them before too to come a little further forward, to ITO, or go to Okhla. You’ll find out the truth," Yadav said.

Priyanka Kakkar Joins Criticism

Congress leader Priyanka Kakkar, who accompanied Yadav during the hospital visit, also criticised the government over the pollution situation and alleged that no concrete action was being taken. "Today we’re here with Delhi State President Devender Yadav. We visited this hospital and saw how many people are sick. Delhi’s air is just toxic. We met a patient who came here from Mumbai for a wedding and fainted from the air. She couldn’t breathe or walk and is now admitted. Delhi’s air has left things in such a terrible state. It’s just a blame game here, and now everyone is left to God’s mercy,” Kakkar said.

She further alleged that both the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP governments were engaged in arguments over pollution data instead of addressing the concerns of residents. “People will only get some relief if the wind blows or it rains, because both governments, whether it’s the Aam Aadmi Party or the BJP are just busy arguing about whose data is fake. No one is telling us who will actually work for the people,” she added.

Current Air Quality Status

The air quality across the national capital witnessed some relief as Delhi recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 299, in the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday morning, according to the data recorded at 7:00 AM by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). A day earlier, the national capital recorded an AQI of 307 at 7 am on Tuesday, falling in the 'very poor' category.

On Monday, the national capital woke up to a thick blanket of smog as air quality deteriorated to the 'severe' category at several monitoring stations, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing 400 in multiple areas. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, air quality across multiple monitoring stations in Delhi remained critical, with all locations falling into the 'Very Poor' category. Chhawla recorded the highest Air Quality Index (AQI) at 396, followed by Chandni Chowk at 379, DTU at 375, IIT Delhi at 375, North Campus at 374, ITO at 367, Burari Crossing at 362, Pusa at 359, NIH Narela at 352, NSUT Jaffarpur at 351, NSIT Dwarka at 350, CRRI Mathura Road at 348, Punjabi Bagh at 341, JNU at 339, Aya Nagar at 337, Talkatora Garden at 331, Vivek Vihar at 326, Sirifort at 321, Wazirpur at 321, Jahangirpuri at 320, Burari at 315, Badarpur at 312, Mundka at 305, Anand Vihar at 304, Bawana at 304, and R K Puram at 300. (ANI)

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