Delhi CM urges PM Modi to intervene over stubble burning

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to get rid of pollution due to stubble burning and also informed the coronavirus cases in the national capital have been steadily decreasing after November 10.

PM Modi chaired a virtual meeting with the chief ministers of the eight worst Covid-hit states - Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana - to review the coronavirus situation, discuss the cause for surge and counter-measures planned to stem virus growth.

Kejriwal told the prime minister that Delhi saw the peak of 8,600 coronavirus cases on November 10 during the third wave and since then, the number of cases as well as the positivity rate are steadily decreasing, the sources said.

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The chief minister hoped that the trend would continue in the national capital.

"The high severity of the third wave is due to many factors. Pollution is an important factor. The chief minister sought the prime minister's intervention to get rid of the pollution caused by stubble-burning in adjoining states, especially in view of the recent bio-decomposer technique," a source said.

Stubble burning contributed significantly to air pollution in Delhi, peaking to 44 per cent on November 1 - the highest this year - showed data from the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor SAFAR.

At the meeting with the prime minister, Kejriwal also sought the reservation of the additional 1,000 ICU beds in the central government-run hospitals in Delhi for coronavirus patients till the third wave of the infection lasts in the city, the source said.

• Arvind Kejriwal
• COVID-19 cases
• Delhi CM
• PM Modi
• stubble burning
• Narendra Modi