NEW DELHI: AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj has accused the BJP-led Delhi government of fudging air quality data, warning that manipulating AQI readings could put the lives of residents, particularly senior citizens and people with heart conditions, at risk.In a video message on X, Bharadwaj alleged that water was being sprayed on air quality monitoring stations to bring down pollution readings and create a false impression that the air was safe to breathe.He warned that people relying on these figures could unknowingly expose themselves to dangerous levels of PM2.5, fine particles that can enter the lungs and bloodstream.In his post, titled “Your elderly parents can be victims of the AQI Fraud”, Bharadwaj wrote, “Fudging AQI data is not just corruption, it is life-threatening. When you lie about pollution, you trick families into a false sense of security and kill our elders.”Targeting chief minister Rekha Gupta, Bharadwaj alleged that her government was “playing with the lives of the people of Delhi” and called for the alleged manipulation to stop immediately.SC seeks focus on local pollution sourcesThe Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern over Delhi-NCR’s worsening air quality, with CJI Surya Kant identifying vehicular emissions as a major contributor and calling for stronger public transport measures. The bench also discussed stubble management, suggesting that machinery be provided to gram panchayats and stubble procurement rates be announced in advance to help farmers avoid burning crop residue.The CJI also flagged bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads connecting Delhi with the NCR and questioned whether scientific measures had been adopted to tackle the recurring pollution crisis.
Delhi continued to reel under high pollution levels on Friday. The city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 389 in the ‘very poor’ category at 8 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).Several monitoring stations recorded AQI levels in the ‘severe’ category.IIT Delhi and Rohini reported an AQI of 474 each, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 465, RK Puram at 443, ITO at 422, Firoz Shah Road at 420 and India Gate at 403.Other areas also recorded high pollution levels, with Anand Vihar and Akshardham reporting an AQI of 359. IGI Airport Terminal 3 recorded 385, while the readings stood at 393 in Aya Nagar and 391 in Chandni Chowk.