AISA president Neha Bora has announced that she and other citizens will visit Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav’s office in Delhi at 2pm on Monday, November 16, after receiving no response to an email seeking a meeting on the city region’s deteriorating air quality, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR.
The planned visit follows worsening air pollution across Delhi and nearby cities after Diwali. The report said the Air Quality Index in several areas was recorded between 350 and 400, levels classified as very poor to severe under India’s air-quality scale. The report did not identify the specific monitoring stations or provide a government bulletin for the readings.
Bora announced the proposed action in a video shared on Sunday on her X account. She said citizens had written to Yadav and the Environment Ministry seeking a meeting and answers on why residents were being forced to breathe polluted air. She said there had been no response from the minister or his office.
The group named in the appeal includes Bhavreen Kandhari, described in the report as a climate campaigner and a mother involved in air-pollution advocacy; Urvashi Prasad, identified as a cancer survivor working on environmental issues; and retired Captain Ashish Jacob, who has campaigned against air pollution. Bora said the group would reach the minister’s office to raise what she called the rights to breathe and to life.
In the video, Bora also appealed to members of the public to decide whether they would join the action. The stated objective is to seek engagement from the Union environment minister during what the campaigners describe as a public-health emergency.
The announcement followed another video posted on Saturday. In that video, Bora said an email had been sent to Yadav and the Environment Ministry on November 12 asking why people were being made to breathe toxic air. She said two days had passed without a reply from either the minister or his office.
The planned visit puts the focus on the administrative response to Delhi-NCR’s recurring winter pollution crisis. The Environment Ministry, the Commission for Air Quality Management and governments in Delhi and neighbouring states share responsibilities for air-quality monitoring, pollution-control measures and enforcement. The supplied report does not state whether the minister’s office has acknowledged the email or whether any meeting has been scheduled.
Bora’s announcement is scheduled for 2pm on Monday, November 16. Any response from the Environment Ministry or the minister’s office would establish whether the proposed meeting or public action results in an official engagement.
