“Whatever little data they (governments) generate is absolutely outdated, but they still don’t want to share the data as if it’s an atomic bomb formula”, he said.
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The situation here is quite similar to China’s capital Beijing which maintained an “orange” pollution alert, the second-highest level, closing highways, halting or suspending construction and prompting a warning to residents to stay indoors after it was blanketed in hazardous, choking smog on Monday.
And, during Diwali, this level of pollution became 23 times higher.
The air quality of Delhi, largely “very poor” with it breaching the “severe” level in areas such as Anand Vihar, poses public health risks as the most prominent pollutant across monitoring stations has been found out to be PM 2.5, the tiniest and deadliest. Yesterday, the Govt. even suggested closing down of schools as the rising pollution level is threatening a large scale health hazard among young children.
To lure startups into the environmental niche, AAP Govt. has announced a “seed fund” of Rs 2 crore for any startup which introduces a solid solution to bring down Delhi pollution.
” The centerpiece of this partnership will be the first worldwide Innovation Challenge competition, launching December 1 at the University of Chicago Center in Delhi”, the Urban Labs said on its website. The Innovation Challenge can only provide financial assistance of up to Rs. 2 crores over a period of 2 years.
AAP founded the Delhi Dialogue Commission to promote ideas that can make a difference.
Interestingly, University of Chicago had earlier worked with Gujarat Government, and helped to reduce air pollution in Ahmedabad by 28%. The winning ideas will be tried and tested first by a a team of University of Chicago researchers and policymakers from the Delhi Dialogue Commission. In 2014 the city witnessed 149,000 Indian travellers and India ranks among the top 10 worldwide markets, in terms of arrivals as well as of spending per visitor.
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With the technical and financial help from University of Chicago, the Government of Delhi will open a challenge for all citizens of the country to come forward and pilot their ideas to solve major problem of pollution on a big scale.
