‘Delhi will officially be declared heaven once...’: Harsh Goenka takes a jibe at severe air quality over national capital 

Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, took a dig at the prevailing air quality over the national capital and jokingly said that ‘Delhi will officially be declared heaven’ soon. 

In a post on X (formally twitter), he wrote, “The air in Delhi already has all the qualities of a cigarette. Once the water starts resembling alcohol, Delhi will officially be declared heaven!” 

After eight consecutive days of suffering severe air pollution, residents of the national capital woke up to slightly improved air quality on November 21. At 7 am, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 379, placing the city in the “very poor” category. 

However, several air monitoring stations across the national capital still recorded AQI levels above 400, which is categorised as “severe”. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Jahangirpuri and Wazirpur saw the highest AQI readings at 437, with Bawana at 419, and Ashok Vihar and Mundka both registering an AQI of 416. 

The Union government today advised all its ministries, departments and organisations with offices in Delhi and NCR to adopt staggered timings and encourage car-pooling. 

The Department of Personnel and Training in a notice said that “in view of the severe+ air pollution levels in Delhi”, the Union government ministries, departments and organisations were advised to follow the steps in the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) by the Commission for Air Quality Management till GRAP-IV is in force. The offices would have staggered timings till GRAP-IV is in force – 9am to 5.30pm and 10am to 6.30 pm. 

Amid the ongoing air quality crisis, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has updated the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). This revised plan mandates the closure of schools in Delhi and neighbouring districts under Stages 3 and 4. Additionally, the Delhi government has announced that 50 percent of its employees will work from home as a measure to reduce exposure to the toxic air. 

Visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport was severely impacted by the dense smog, leading to flight delays. According to Flightradar, 97 flights have been delayed and three have been cancelled so far due to poor visibility.