Punjab fields set on fire on Diwali: Delhi govt alleges conspiracy as AQI peaks

Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Monday alleged that Punjab’s fields were being deliberately set on fire as part of a conspiracy against Delhi, hours after AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the BJP-led government of manipulating air quality data.Bhardwaj claimed that AQI readings had crossed 3,000 in several parts of Delhi on Diwali night and that official figures understated the pollution.Mishra countered with allegations that people associated with Arvind Kejriwal had set fields ablaze and demanded an investigation into AAP leaders’ alleged role.MISHRA ALLEGES DELIBERATE FARM FIRESMishra said farmers in Punjab had called him and other members of the Delhi government to complain that fields were being set on fire at night. He claimed satellite data showed 125 farm-fire incidents on November 7, with the number rising to 1,200 on Diwali night.“This is a conspiracy against farmers and the people of Delhi,” he alleged. Mishra urged the Punjab Chief Minister to investigate. He also claimed that fires were occurring in areas visited by AAP leaders from Delhi and demanded that their phone records be examined.“A campaign to malign Diwali began two days earlier,” he said.AAP QUESTIONS OFFICIAL POLLUTION READINGSBhardwaj cited independent air quality monitoring platforms to allege that the government’s figures did not reflect conditions on the ground.“AQI 3000 paar. Full credit to these brothers who raised pollution beyond 3000,” he wrote on X.In two videos, he alleged that around 20 new monitoring stations had been installed in distant, relatively green areas, while water was being sprayed near existing stations in more polluted locations to lower their readings.His claim of AQI exceeding 3,000 requires clarification. India’s official AQI scale runs from 0 to 500, and pollutant concentrations displayed by monitors are not interchangeable with AQI values.DELHI GOVERNMENT CLAIMS SMALLER POST-DIWALI CHANGEMishra maintained that Delhi’s pollution situation was better than under the Kejriwal government.Citing pre- and post-Diwali comparisons, he claimed pollution had risen by 43.33 per cent in 2023 and about 10 per cent in 2024, but had fallen by 1.33 per cent this year. He did not specify in the supplied remarks which pollutant or index, locations or averaging periods were used for those comparisons.The competing allegations concern both the sources of Delhi’s pollution and the reliability of the information being presented to residents.Neither the alleged involvement of AAP leaders in farm fires nor the claimed manipulation of monitoring stations is established by the material provided.- Ends