By Shivaji Dasgupta

Since the days of Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, Delhi has had its share of lofty airs. Although, I am not quite sure when the filthy air of Delhi became a mass murderer.

On the subject of elevated airs, the capital has always been a fine masterclass. In the whitewashed central political district, aggressive entitlement is the stock in trade. This is brought to life elegantly in the Delhi Gymkhana Club, IIC and its kindred institutes, and perhaps more affirmatively in the corridors of power. While in newer-vintage Gurgaon and Noida, hard-earned merit may well be the conduit but the expressions of arrival are charmingly emulated.

But this matter of ill-tempered air is hardly a laughing matter, and this I know from first-breath evidence. Many children in the zone grow up on a steady diet of Levolin and Budecort, steroids which are administered through high-tech nebulizers. Stuff as such is usually associated with geriatrics or the pulmonary infirm, but in North India is akin to rice and dal.

Even in 2022, the pattern is largely undisturbed, as the 400-plus AQI scores vie relentlessly with modern-day ODI targets. Everybody, including the IIT-educated Kejriwal seems to know who the culprits are, but a mechanism for detention has not yet been legislated. The stubble burning in Punjab features as the Gabbar Singh of the piece, apparently a logistical necessity, but there are no Jai and Veeru in cohesive sight. To add, the temperamental pace of winds and the considerable industrial pollution in the NCR aided the debacle, but as side actors.

While closing schools and regulating traffic are SOP measures, perhaps a lot more needs to be done. As, most certainly, the astrological lifespan of residents in the area may well be reviewed due to these warlike conditions. Even more distressingly, a close few who we lost due to covid may have had their immunity systems crucially underperforming due to this infiltration of foul air, and of this, I am fairly certain.

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