What’s choking Delhi? Farm fire isn’t the only villain burning a USD150 billion hole in the economy
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A man walks on the lawns of Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi, India, on November 1, 2023.
Synopsis
In cities like Delhi, baseline pollution from local sources is very high throughout the year. Stubble burning in neighbouring states only adds to the toxic air. If India had achieved safe air quality levels in 2019, its GDP would have increased by USD95 billion, or 3%. What’s the key to clean air then? Political will, strict regulations, and awareness.
“Feels like I have been put in a chokehold.” That’s mostly how P C Bhardwaj (name changed), an 80-year-old retired government officer living with his daughter in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, replies nowadays when someone generally inquires about his health. As advised by his pulmonologist, Bhardwaj hasn’t stepped out in the last 15 days or so and is badly missing his morning walks. “Thank god the cricket world cup is on, otherwise getting confined to
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