The air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the ‘very poor category’ on Sunday with the AQI recorded at ‘316’.
New Delhi: The air pollution in Delhi is indeed a major concern. The poor air quality can have serious health impacts, including respiratory problems, heart disease, and increased mortality rates. The worsening air pollution in Delhi-NCR, coupled with stringent restrictions under GRAP-4 (Graded Response Action Plan), has severely impacted businesses, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 2,500 crore over the past month, according to the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI).
In a statement, CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal and President Subhash Khandelwal stated that the ban on commercial and light vehicles, coupled with a sharp decline in the number of vehicles entering Delhi from outside, has severely disrupted trade, industry, and tourism.
Goyal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, “Retail markets in Delhi are witnessing a slump as the city’s air quality has plunged into the ‘severe’ category. News about pollution, widely disseminated through TV, newspapers, and social media, is deterring people from visiting markets.”
Before the pollution spike, the CTI claimed that around 3-4 lakh people from NCR visited Delhi daily for shopping. However, this number has now dropped to about 1 lakh. The statement also highlighted that local shoppers are increasingly choosing online shopping over visiting markets, which has worsened the business losses.
The CTI claimed that Delhi’s businesses were incurring daily losses of around Rs 100 crore, and over the past month, these losses had accumulated to an estimated Rs 2,500 crore. “Due to this, Delhi’s businesses are suffering losses of about Rs 100 crore every day. Over the past month, these losses have accumulated to an estimated Rs 2,500 crore,” the statement added.
Goyal emphasized the negative impact on the wedding and tourism season, pointing out that over 200 events had been postponed. He noted that people from outside Delhi were reluctant to organize events in the city due to the hazardous air quality.
CTI General Secretary Gurmeet Arora and Senior Vice President Deepak Garg pointed out that the ban on construction work has delayed projects and raised concerns over cost escalation. “Workers are also facing significant livelihood challenges,” they added, ANI reported.
With daily losses reaching Rs 100 crore, traders are calling on authorities to urgently tackle the pollution crisis to avert further economic harm.
The air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the ‘very poor category’ on Sunday with the AQI recorded at ‘316’. A dense layer of smog enveloped the city of Delhi, and several parts of Delhi witnessed AQI above 300, according to the SAFAR.
Several areas recorded the AQI in ‘very poor’ category, with Dwarka sec 8 – 335, ITO – 327, Okhla phase 2 – 319, R Rohini – 329, Vivek Vihar -338, Anand Vihar – 346 and Bawana -332 respectively.
In some areas of the city, AQI was recorded in the ‘poor’ category at around 7 am, Lodhi Road 256, Najafgarh – 295, Pusa – 289 and IGI Airport T3 – 299.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe.
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the National Capital Region (NCR) is classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I — ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II — ‘very poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV — ‘severe plus’ (AQI above 450).
(With ANI Inputs)
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