‘Environmentalist’ Vimlendu Jha has defended stubble burning and farmers and said that to blame stubble burning as the major cause of air pollution in Delhi is incorrect.
“To say that only 2-3 weeks of #StubbleBurning is the main reason for Delhi becoming a gas chamber is incorrect; Delhi’s air quality is bad throughout the year”: @Vimlendu Jha, Environmentalist, on #DelhiPollution. pic.twitter.com/SBQfTeQfkd
— NDTV (@ndtv) November 15, 2021
According to Jha, ‘local’ and domestic issues are the major reason behind Delhi’s poor air quality. He claimed that stubble burning only causes a spike in existing air pollution and that too for a short period of time.
Further in his report, Jha has cited the IIT Kanpur study which stated that road dust, construction and demolition dust were the main factors of air pollution in Delhi with vehicle transmission being the second largest contributor. He has also claimed that Delhi’s air pollution problem is perennial and not seasonal. While Jha admits that Stubble burning causes a spike in air pollution for a few weeks, he has considered it a ‘hype’ to blame stubble burning for Delhi’s air pollution and asked the Delhi government to focus on local and domestic issues.
However, quite recently, Jha had heavily criticized citizens for bursting firecrackers on Diwali and also accused the media of helping to ‘communalize’ the bursting of firecrackers. He had even blamed people who celebrated Diwali for ‘sending the elderly and children to hospitals’.
Apparently, for Jha, citing the “2-3 weeks of stubble burning” is unfair, but the one evening of firecrackers has to be shamed and blamed for causing air pollution in Delhi.
We have just added ‘ghee’ in fire,by worsening the air pollution crisis of Delhi NCR,an already a gas chamber by furthering it by crackers. So wish our media fraternity understood the gravity of the situation and dealt with this with an iron fist, n not help communalise it. Alas! pic.twitter.com/LqoDYDSH2B
— Vimlendu Jha विमलेंदु झा (@vimlendu) November 5, 2021
He said, “We have just added ‘ghee’ in fire, by worsening the air pollution crisis of Delhi NCR, already a gas chamber by furthering it by crackers. So wish our media fraternity understood the gravity of the situation and dealt with this with an iron fist, n not help communalise it. Alas!”
According to Jha, India has sent ‘scores’ of children and elderly to hospitals by bursting crackers.
To teach a ‘lesson’ to so called ‘liberals’, India burst firecrackers and sent scores of children and elderly to the hospital. #NewIndia https://t.co/ugfcghw8TR
— Vimlendu Jha विमलेंदु झा (@vimlendu) November 6, 2021
Jha has suggested ‘agricultural reforms’ to curb the pollution caused by stubble burning and has sought a long term solution for the same. Considering the statements made by the environmentalist Jha, it appears that according to him, people cannot blame weeks-long stubble burning for causing air pollution in Delhi but they should blame one evening of firecrackers instead.
