The poor air quality causes around 17,000 deaths annually in the national Capital, Chiranshu from Scientists for Society said .
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Concerned citizens, students, scientists and activists gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Thursday to protest what they described as the Central and Delhi governments’ failure to address the city’s worsening pollution and climate crisis, demanding urgent accountability and action.
The demonstration was organised by Scientists for Society and the Campaign for Right to Public Health, with support from several groups, including the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Disha Students’ Organisation, Progressive Artists League, and the Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI), according to a report by The Observer Post.
Despite the Delhi Police issuing a cancellation letter and denying permission for the protest, people from across the city turned up at the site, carrying placards that read “Pollution mein saans lena is not funny” and “Smash capitalism, save environment.” Protesters also raised slogans such as “AQI 400 paar, ab kahan hai Modi sarkar?” (“AQI has crossed 400, where is the Modi government?”).
Participants made drawings and wrote slogans on the ground depicting the lungs of Delhi residents exposed to toxic air.
Photos taken from The Observer Post.
Chiranshu from Scientists for Society said Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) had crossed 500 — the “severe” category — breaking previous records. He noted that poor air quality causes around 17,000 deaths annually in the city. “It has become normal to hear every winter that the air quality has dropped again, but this situation can no longer be ignored,” he said.
Priyamvada from the Campaign for Right to Public Health called the environmental crisis “reversible” if the government took consistent, people-centred action. She demanded affordable public transport to reduce dependence on private vehicles, improved sewage treatment systems, and decentralisation of industries to ease the burden on Delhi. Long-term change, she added, required addressing the capitalist system that prioritises profit over public health and the environment.
Yogesh from the Revolutionary Workers Party of India said the working class suffered the most from pollution. “The government pretends to control pollution by stopping small businesses, but it is the workers who lose their livelihoods and live in the most polluted areas,” he said, adding that air purifiers remain out of reach for most poor families.
Wishal from the Naujawan Bharat Sabha criticised the authorities for what he called “drama” in the name of pollution control — such as spraying water near air quality stations or experimenting with cloud seeding — saying studies had already shown such measures do not offer lasting solutions.
Keshav from the Disha Students’ Organisation urged students and young people to unite and build a mass movement for clean air and public health. “We must hold those in power accountable,” he said.
In a statement, Scientists for Society said science and knowledge should serve the public, not private profit. “The climate crisis is a product of a system that values money over life. Real solutions will only come when that system changes,” the group said. — With inputs from The Observer Post
