Delhi air pollution triggered a protest at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty on Thursday, with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) alleging gaps in pollution-monitoring data during peak pollution hours and calling for stronger enforcement and a public-health response. Separately, a group of environmentalists, activists and citizens sought a meeting with the Union Environment Ministry to press for coordinated action on the recurring crisis.
According to the report by news agency PTI, the SFI raised concerns about deteriorating air quality and questioned the transparency and effectiveness of the monitoring system. The student organisation pointed to reports of missing data during periods when pollution levels were at their highest, though the report did not provide details of the monitoring stations or the duration of the alleged gaps.
In a statement, the SFI said the Delhi and Union governments had failed to address the recurring pollution crisis. It argued that the problem was not only seasonal or weather-related, and linked it to unregulated urbanisation, construction activity, vehicular emissions and industrial pollution.
The protest also focused on the unequal burden of polluted air. The SFI said outdoor workers, street vendors and people whose livelihoods depend on working outside were among the worst affected. It contrasted their exposure with the greater ability of wealthier residents to use air purifiers or move to areas with less pollution. The organisation said access to clean air should not depend on a person’s ability to pay for protection.
The SFI called for transparent pollution monitoring, stricter enforcement of environmental regulations and a comprehensive public-health response. The concerns place monitoring data at the centre of the city’s pollution response, since residents, authorities and health agencies rely on such information to understand changing conditions and assess the need for restrictions or other interventions.
In a separate development, environmentalists, activists and citizens wrote to the Union Environment Ministry seeking a meeting on the worsening pollution situation and possible long-term solutions. The delegation includes AISA president Neha Bora, environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari of Warrior Moms, Urvashi Prasad, founder of PAVANA and director at the Office of the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, and former APAG member Captain (IN) Ashish Jacob.
The group has sought a meeting with the Union environment minister in the presence of senior officials from the ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Commission for Air Quality Management and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Its stated objective is to identify practical and sustainable measures and seek coordinated action from the agencies responsible for environmental regulation, air-quality management and public health.
The activists described clean air as a fundamental right and said their initiative was intended to bring citizens’ concerns to the government and ensure that they were heard. The report did not state whether the Union Environment Ministry had accepted the request or whether the authorities had responded to the allegations concerning missing peak-hour pollution data.
