National
Air quality back to ‘severe’ in Delhi-NCR, GRAP may come in effect
New Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS) The air quality of Delhi-NCR fell to “severe” on Tuesday, and is expected to worsen over three days, while the environment body considered implementation of restrictions under severe category of the GRAP, officials said.
As the situation worsens, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Tuesday evening directed the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to stay alert for effective implementation of the the severe category of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The EPCA has also asked the authorities concerned to set up a centralised control room that would act as a nodal pollution monitoring centres where people can go and register their complaints regarding air pollution.
“The EPCA on Tuesday has also asked the authorities to circulate the complaint and Whatsapp numbers so that people can complain regarding incidents of dust, garbage burning in their respective areas,” Polash Mukherjee, researcher at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and member of the EPCA, told IANS.
While EPCA in October made it clear that the “very poor” and “severe” category of GRAP shall be under force throughout the winters, the environment body has now asked the states to ensure its implementations, as Delhi-NCR saw severe air quality after at least two weeks.
“The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will do overnight monitoring of the pollution levels and inform EPCA in the morning,” said Shambahvi Shukla, also a researcher at CSE and member of the EPCA.
Under “severe” category of EPCA, coal-based Badarpur power plant (in Delhi), stone crushers, brick kilns and hotmix plants (across NCR) are closed, while public transport and mechanised sweeping is intensified.
According to the IMD, the low wind speed and low mixing height is the reason of drop in air quality across Delhi.
“Mixing height is where effluents disperse. If the height is low, pollutant get less space to disperse,” said Shukla, adding that wind speed is expected to drop further on Wednesday thereby worsening the air quality.
Receiving both dry-cold northwesterly and moist-cold southeasterly winds, Delhi may however see light showers in next two days, which may bring down the pollution level here.
However the chances of drizzling are low, officials said.
On Tuesday, the average air-quality of Delhi and Delhi-NCR was “severe”, with at least 11 out of 21 active monitoring stations falling under “severe” and “severe plus or emergency” category.
At 7 p.m., the volume of major pollutant PM2.5 or particles with diameter less than 2.5 micrometers in Delhi was 254 units and in Delhi-NCR it was 261 units — 10 times the safe limit.
“The wind-speed on Tuesday was around 9 kmph while on Wednesday its expected to drop by 4-5 kmph… There are chances of good rains in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana on December 11 and 12, that would drop the pollution levels here,” Mahesh Palawat, director private weather forecasting agency Skymet told IANS.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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