Delhi pollution: The Aam Aadmi-led Delhi government has directed its hospitals to constitute teams of specialists to provide respiratory disease-related care owing to heavy pollution. The Delhi Health Department also asked the hospitals to monitor and report daily cases of respiratory ailments, including both outpatient (OPD) and inpatient (IPD) cases, and to promptly flag any unusual increase in the number of cases, it said. Delhi's air quality plummeted to alarming levels on Monday, leaving people gasping for breath with itchy eyes and sore throats as the Air Quality Index stood at 494, the second-worst in the last six years. On Tuesday too it remained in “severe plus” category.
The daily reports are to be shared with Dr. Govind Mawari, Senior Scientist at the Centre for Occupational & Environmental Health (COEH). The advisory mandates that hospitals designate specialists to address respiratory diseases and ensure comprehensive care for affected patients.
Meanwhile, amid alarmingly high pollution levels in Delhi, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday urged the Centre to convene an emergency meeting to tackle the issue and said it is the moral responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter. A decision on implementing work-from-home measures and the odd-even scheme will be taken soon to tackle the city’s worsening air quality, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said.
The minister added that the government has already imposed significant restrictions on vehicles under GRAP-IV.
