Neighbouring states to blame for Delhi air quality: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

India Gate seen covered in a thick layer of smog, at Kartavya Path, in New Delhi on Saturday. Pic/ANI

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday waded into the ongoing political blame game between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party over the declining air quality in the national capital. Speaking to agencies in the state capital Patna on Saturday, Kumar said that the blame for the prevailing foul and toxic air pervading Delhi and NCR should be put on its surrounding states. "The neighbouring states have to shoulder the blame for the prevailing situation in Delhi with regards to air quality. There is no doubt about it," the Bihar CM said.

The Janata Dal (United) chief further said he had been working to convince the people of Bihar to shun or give up "parali" (stubble) burning since 2018. "I have tried to convince the people of my state not to burn stubble," Kumar told. Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the "severe" category for the third straight day, on Saturday. However, a slight improvement was noted in Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI), which stood at 431 on Saturday morning from 472 the previous day.

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4 out of 5 families affected by pollution

Four out of every five families in Delhi-NCR have claimed to have experienced pollution-related ailments in the last few weeks, according to a survey. Meanwhile, 18 per cent of the total 19,000 people surveyed by LocalCircles have already visited a doctor. The survey also found that 80 per cent of the surveyed families have at least one member who is experiencing some kind of respiratory problem due to air pollution. The responses were sought from the residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad. Eighty per cent families said they are "facing multiple issues due to the pollution", while seven per cent denied having any issue at all due to pollution.

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