Senior Congress leader Anurag Dhanda has launched a sharp attack on the Delhi government over the worsening air pollution crisis after AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video on social media featuring a satirical audio clip questioning the administration’s handling of Delhi’s rising AQI levels. The video, circulated by Bharadwaj, uses sharp verses and political sarcasm to highlight public frustration over the continuing pollution emergency.
Anurag Dhanda Targets Delhi Government Over ‘Artificial Relief’ as AQI Remains in Very Poor Zone
Reacting to the video, Dhanda echoed the criticism, questioning what he described as the “compulsions” of the ruling dispensation even after forming the government. He alleged that instead of focusing on long-term public health solutions, the government was resorting to optics and short-term measures. Dhanda also took a swipe at initiatives like artificial rain, suggesting that projecting marginal drops in AQI or symbolic actions such as sprinkling water near monitoring stations misleads the public rather than providing real relief.
Dhanda also took a swipe at initiatives like artificial rain
The criticism comes amid persistently hazardous air quality in the national capital. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 on Sunday morning, a marginal improvement from 398 a day earlier, but still firmly in the “very poor” category and dangerously close to the “severe” range.
Several monitoring stations reported far worse readings. Chandni Chowk recorded an AQI of 455, followed by Wazirpur (449), Bawana (446), Rohini (444) and Anand Vihar (438), underlining the seriousness of the pollution spread across multiple parts of the city.
Poor visibility caused major disruption to air traffic as well. Dense smog led to the cancellation of 110 flights and delays to over 370 flights at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday. As per PTI, 59 incoming and 51 outgoing flights were cancelled.
With air quality continuing to deteriorate, Dhanda said Delhi residents were being pushed to the brink and called for credible, science-based and long-term measures to tackle pollution instead of what he termed “temporary fixes and public relations exercises.”
