The national capital Delhi has been recording severe category air quality for the last five days on account of an increase in stubble burning and unfavorable wind speed. Delhi’s air quality index scaled at 474 micrograms per cubic meter at noon, almost touching the hazardous category.

It is at this juncture that a 9-year-old climate activist, Licypriya Kangujam has appealed to the government to announce  health emergency in Delhi, stressing that people are choking due to the noxious air. “I would like to appeal to everyone to not use firecrackers to celebrate Diwali, because it creates a lot of noise and air pollution which is very dangerous for our health. “I am fighting to save our planet and future. If we are all together, we will fight this air pollution. We can make a change if we are together” Licypriya Kangujam said.

Kangujam, who is also the founder of ‘The Child Movement’, has always been on the forefront of the fight against air pollution. Last month, she and 12-year old activist Aarav Seth were briefly detained by the police for protesting against the rising air pollution outside Parliament House.

Notably, the National Green Tribunal on Monday imposed a total ban on sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region from November 9 to November 30. The direction also applies to all cities and towns where the air quality during November fell under the ‘poor’ and above categories.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel emphasized that citizens are entitled to breathe fresh air which right cannot be defeated on the ground that enforcement of such right will lead to closing of such business activity.

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