Delhi breathes easier as air quality improves to 'poor'category

News Network
November 17, 2019

New Delhi, Nov 17: After reeling under a layer of hazardous levels of pollution for almost a week, the air quality in Noida significantly improved but remained in the 'poor' category.

According to data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) at Sector 62 Noida docked at 221, which falls in the 'poor' category. The current AQI is down from 573 (severe) that was recorded on Saturday.

Isolated pockets of the region were covered in a thick blanket of smog due to the spike in pollutants in the air. The smog cover also reduced visibility at major junctions of the city in the wee hours.

It is to be noted that all government and private schools in Gautam Budh Nagar district remained closed on November 14 and 15 due to rising pollution levels in the region, as the AQI had entered the 'severe' category, forcing people to limit their outdoor activities.

"Pollution has increased in the last few days. Schools were closed and this has affected my studies. We cannot breathe if we don't put a mask. I used to play for around one hour, but since pollution levels have increased, I cannot go out," Aditi, a youngster, told ANI.

Echoing similar sentiments, Shailendra, another resident in Noida, said, "Pollution levels have decreased because of the winds. However, it is still a dangerous situation. Schools were closed as pollution levels spiked and have affected the studies of children. They cannot go out and play as well. We are doing our activities indoors."

Elsewhere in the National Capital Region (NCR), the air quality came out of the 'severe' category due to strong surface winds, which helped in clearing out the pollutants from the atmosphere.

In Gurugram, the AQI at NISE Gwal Pahari area read at 301, which falls in the 'very poor' category, as per the CPCB data.

In Delhi, major pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10, read at 218 and 217 at Lodhi Road area respectively, both of which falls in 'poor' category, according to SAFAR.

Residents in the Delhi-NCR have been gasping for fresh air since due to the noxious smog that has enveloped the region owing to incidents of stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Kochi, Apr 16: As many as 268 British citizens stranded in Kerala due to the nationwide lockdown were airlifted by British Airways on Wednesday from Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin International Airports.

The flight took off from Thiruvananthapuram to London's Heathrow Airport with 110 passengers at 7.30 pm. Later, 158 more passengers boarded the flight from Cochin airport at 10.07 pm.
A medical team, including four doctors, screened the passengers at the Thiruvananthapuram airport before they boarded the flight.

Earlier this month, the first charter flight from India reached London's Stansted with 317 British nationals on board from Goa.

The British government had earlier announced the operation of 19 chartered flights to evacuate its nationals who are stranded in India amid travel restrictions owing to the coronavirus crisis.

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Agencies
March 16,2020

Amaravati, Mar 16: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that paracetamol is the only medication for coronavirus.

He said that COVID-19 is lethal for those have comorbid conditions including blood pressure, asthma and kidney diseases.

"There is no need to get panic about Coronavirus. Its impact is majorly on senior citizens aged above 60 years. It is dangerous to those suffering from diabetes, blood pressure, asthma and kidney diseases. For others, it is not so much dangerous. And paracetamol is the only medication for coronavirus," Reddy said on Sunday while addressing a press conference on the postponing of the local body elections as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

"In case anybody coming from foreign countries is found suffering from cough, cold and fever, bleaching powder should be sprayed on their belongings and things they use. The government is creating awareness on such precautions," he added.

Reddy slammed the State Election Commissioner's decision of postponing the local body elections for six weeks and alleged that the SEC was acting at the behest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

The opposition has targeted Reddy on his statement, saying the chief minister is behaving "ignorantly" and "irresponsibly" on the issue of coronavirus.

"While Telangana CM had changed his stand and closed shops and theatres in his state, Jagan Reddy is speaking as if there is no need for any panic. This CM is behaving ignorantly and irresponsibly," said Naidu.

Andhra Pradesh has reported one case of coronavirus. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across India has risen to 110.

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News Network
March 20,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: The coronavirus pandemic will leave behind a global recession with small businesses, self-employed and daily wagers taking the worst hit, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said on thursday.

"The virus will eventually be conquered, but it will have left behind a global recession. The costs of that are incalculably high at this time. The most fearsome toll will be on small businesses, the self-employed & those whose lives depend on meagre daily wages," Mahindra said in a tweet.

Apart from the toll on lives, the legacy of Covid-19 may well be deaths due to stress, loss of livelihoods, a rise in homelessness and in extreme situations, civil unrest, he added.

"The only global experience that has lessons for us in the current situation is the last world war. In the aftermath of WW2, the US came up with the Marshall plan to revive Europe, effectively a giant fiscal pump-priming," Mahindra said.

In the US, the government dramatically dismantled regulations and opened up the economy to trade and these actions led to a boom-cycle that stretched to 1975, he added.

"This time, there will be no victors, only the vanquished. So every country will have to create its own post ‘virus war” marshall plan & take care of those in society who are hit the hardest. Perhaps we too can build the foundations of a sustained global growth cycle," Mahindra said.

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