India’s capital, Delhi, has experience a thick coat of smog and unhealthy levels of air pollution for quite some time. Arvid Kejriwal, the current Chief Minister of Delhi proposed a plan in January, 2016 in an attempt to reduce the rising levels of air pollution. Known as the Odd-Even rule, which stated that vehicles were only allowed on the road on certain days, and the day in which those private vehicles were allowed to be on the road was determined by their license plate number. Although it appeared that they were beginning to take the steps necessary to cleanse their air, the scheme was ended on November 11, 2017. There has been a small resurgence of this attempt in recent times, however citizens have complained that the governments attempts are futile. Now, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital has been recorded at 482, with some areas such as Mathura Road in Delhi reaching 524 (PM10). These startling numbers place Delhi well in to the “severe” category on the AQI. Delhi citizens have placed intense scrutiny on Arvid Kejriwal for not taking a concrete stance for extending the Odd-Even rule, and for neglecting to pose new plans to help aid their situation. With this level of air pollution, schools have been forcibly shut down for several days, their children restricted to the confinement of their homes. An outcry has been heard from these students, who have wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pushing him to take the necessary steps to ensure cleanliness in Delhi’s air. A student urging for cleaner air wrote, “At this point, we need a strong directive from the government of India and the governments of the states affected to control this serious condition. We do have belief in our beloved Prime Minister who will surely take a strong decision on this,”. Students suffering from the suffocating smog have also taken to Twitter to post their own handwritten letters to their government, and have created the “BacchonKeMankiBaat” hashtag in attempts to shed light on the situation. I believe that with the urge from Delhi’s younger generations, the government will be pushed to create permanent and preventative laws to ensure the stability of clean air in their city. Also, Twitter has created a platform in which these young students may share their stories, and perhaps even share their own ideas in regard to the future of their city.
