On the eve of Children’s Day, while schools prepared for celebrations, the Haryana government handed students a gift they never asked for—mandatory online classes due to toxic air pollution.
For years, the issue of air pollution in the National Capital Region has loomed large, yet the response from both state and central governments remains strikingly consistent: reactive, rather than proactive. Every year, the Air Quality Index surpasses 1000, a staggering figure that signals the dangerous levels of pollution choking these cities.
And every year, we are met with the same quick fixes—construction halts, the odd-even scheme is implemented, employees work from home, and children are ushered into online classes. The cycle repeats itself predictably, and as always, the government scrambles to put out the fires while failing to address the underlying issues.