Gautam Gambhir unveils giant air purifier; slams ‘poor’ handling of pollution by Kejriwal

In a bid to combat the problems arising due to pollution, East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir inaugurated a first-of-its-kind giant air purifier in Gandhi Nagar market. According to an official statement, the 12-foot tall air purifier covers an area of 1,000 square metres and delivers 2 lakh cubic metre of clean air every day.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta was also present at the inauguration event. Speaking to reporters, the BJP MP said that these air purifiers will have a major impact on people living in nearby areas.

“I know that these air purifiers will not solve the problem completely but something has to be done. These air purifiers will have a major impact on people living in nearby areas. I don’t believe that getting yourself advertised on every traffic signal is the solution to such a major problem which affects every Delhiite especially our elders,” said the MP.

Another air purifier will be installed next week. Earlier in January, the cricketer-turned-politician had inaugurated a first-of-its-kind smog tower in Lajpat Nagar's Central Market as a pilot project.

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Gautam Gambhir hits out at Delhi govt

Further lashing out at the Delhi government, Gambhir highlighted the ‘poor’ handling of the air pollution crisis and not making adequate measures to resolve the issue. He further questioned the ban imposed by the government on firecrackers in the city.

“All that the Kejriwal Government has done is the deployment of paid volunteers holding banners and placards at traffic signals for his advertisements. They spend hundreds of crores on television and print ads when the same amount could have been utilised in installing air purifiers, buying more sprinkler machines and even artificial rains. They have not even bothered to consult any major environment body to find new ways of fighting this deadly pollution,” said Gambhir.

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Meanwhile, the national capital recorded its air quality in the 'very poor' category on Thursday morning even as experts said the situation was “much better” compared to two days ago when pollution levels were above the emergency threshold. A change in the wind direction from northwesterly to north-easterly was the reason behind the dip in pollution levels as it reduced the contribution of stubble burning significantly, according to government agencies and weather experts.

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