The failure by state governments to do anything about pollution means it has often been met with apathy. But at a rare protest anger and frustration were rife
As a familiar smoky evening haze gathered over Delhi, the crowd began to assemble in their hundreds. Mothers and children, students, retirees and environmentalists were all united by a basic but desperate demand: the right to breathe safely in India’s capital.
“Delhi is not a livable city any more, it’s a death trap,” said Radhika Aggarwal, 33, an engineer who joined the protest on Sunday.
“As I stand here, I’m breathing air that I know is killing me. But we see nothing but a failure by the government to do anything to stop this and clean up the pollution. No policies, no real action. So I’m here to fight for my city.”
For the past decade, Delhi has held the inglorious title of being the world’s most polluted city. Pollution season has become as normalised as the monsoon, as it rolls over the city in a suffocating smog that begins in October and can last for more than four months.
