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Technology

‘Grey shroud over Delhi’: Priyanka calls air ‘toxic’, urges PM, CM to clear smog

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said that the Centre and state government need to act immediately to tackle the pollution crisis in Delhi regardless of "political compulsions."In a social media post on X, Priyanka urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, environment minister Bhupender Yadav and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta to intervene and take immediate steps for clearing the "filthy smog" people are breathing."Returning to the Delhi air from Wayanad first, then Bachwara in Bihar is truly shocking. The pollution enveloping this city is like a grey shroud thrown over it," Priyanka said."It’s really about time all of us get together regardless of our political compulsions and do something about it. The central and state government need to act immediately, we will all support and cooperate with whatever actions they choose to take to mitigate this awful situation. Year after year the citizens of Delhi are subjected to this toxicity with no recourse," she added."Those who suffer from respiratory issues, children who commute to school every day and senior citizens especially, need urgent intervention to clear the filthy smog we are all breathing. Rekha Gupta, Bhupendra Yadav, Narendra Modi, please take immediate steps," she further said.This comes as Delhi's air quality remained 'very poor' on Sunday as slow wind speed reduced dispersion of pollutants over the city, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).The national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 386 in the morning, a considerable rise from 303 on Saturday, CPCB data showed.The Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi said wind speed dropped below 8 kmph from the northwest direction during the evening and night, reducing the dispersion of pollutants.Seventeen monitoring stations recorded 'severe' air quality with readings above 400. Wazirpur recorded the highest AQI at 439. Twenty other stations reported 'very poor' air quality with readings above 300, the CPCB's Sameer app showed.An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

Technology

‘It was raining ...’: Cong recalls Indira’s 1977 Bihar visit; posts pics of her on elephant

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on the 41st anniversary of Indira Gandhi’s assassination remembered the former prime minister’s “uncommon grit, courage, perseverance, and resilience,” recalling her 1977 visit to Belchhi in Bihar.Ramesh, in a post on X, said, “Today, the nation recalls the indomitable Indira Gandhi and pays tribute on the 41st anniversary of her martyrdom. She was a person of uncommon grit, courage, perseverance, and resilience.” He recounted how on a rainy August 13, 1977, Gandhi travelled through difficult terrain — “first by car, jeep, and tractor and then rode on an elephant to the remote village of Belchhi” — to meet families devastated by caste atrocities.Calling it an “extraordinary and spontaneous outreach,” Ramesh wrote that the visit “marked her political revival.” Belchhi, in Nalanda district, had witnessed one of Bihar’s worst caste massacres earlier that year, and Gandhi’s visit to console the Dalit victims was widely seen as a turning point that reignited her connection with the masses after her electoral defeat in 1977.Ramesh added that a day later, Gandhi met her “then-bitterest political critic and adversary Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna,” recalling their “deep personal association over a period of four decades.” He also shared archival images of Gandhi riding the elephant through muddy fields to reach Belchhi.At Delhi’s Shakti Sthal, Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge paid floral tributes to the former prime minister. “India’s Indira – Fearless, resolute, and steadfast in the face of every power,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on X, saying her “courage, compassion, and patriotism” continue to inspire him.Kharge described her as the “Iron Lady of India” and said her “resolute commitment to India’s progress and unity remains in our hearts and minds.”Indira Gandhi, India’s first woman prime minister, served from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984. She was born on November 19, 1917.