New Delhi: Wearing masks, AAP members led by senior leader Gopal Rai protested outside the Punjab Bhawan and Haryana Bhawan on Thursday over the increase in pollution in Delhi due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states.
Calling it a 'Satyagraha' against pollution, Rai said due to the stubble burning, the air quality of Delhi suddenly became 'severe' and this also proves that stubble burning is a major factor of increasing pollution.
"The Delhi government appealed to the Centre and the neighbouring states to provide facilities to the farmers to stop burning stubble. But neither the central government nor the governments of neighbouring states took any step in this regard," he claimed.
Rai and other party members were seen wearing masks outside the two-state Bhawans to mark their protest.
He also said that as part of the protest, women's cell of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will try to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday.
"All the members of the women's cell will give flowers to Home Minister Amit Shah and request him that the central government must intervene and take some strict steps as soon as possible so that the incidents of stubble burning in the neighbouring states stop," Rai said.
The air quality in Delhi remained in a severe category on Thursday with the smoky haze lingering over the national capital for the third consecutive day becoming a serious health concern for the residents.
At 7 pm, the city's overall air quality index stood at 412.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution rose to 35 per cent on Wednesday, the season's highest, and the hazardous haze shrouding the city could 'purely' be attributed to it.
The AAP has been alleging that the Centre and Punjab and Haryana governments are not taking any concrete steps to deal with pollution caused by stubble burning.
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