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1 India's national Capital Delhihas emerged as the mostpolluted Capital city in theworld for the fourth year in arow in the latest World AirQuality Report for 2021, aperiod when the countrieswere gradually opening up theeconomic activities as Covid-19cases reported , various so calledanti-air pollution steps have nothelped in ensuring clean air inthe national CapitalIn fact, the report foundthat no country met the WorldHealth Organisation's (WHO) annual air quality guide-lines last year. The WHOanalysed air pollutionmeasurements from air moni-toring stations in 6,475 is out of a list of 107cities in the world.

2 The reportprepared by IQAir, a Swisspollution technology companythat monitors air quality, alsorevealed that smog evenrebounded in some regionsafter a Covid-related report said, "India washome to 11 of the 15 most pol-luted cities in Central andSouth Asia in 2021. Delhi sawa per cent increase concentrations in 2021with levels rising to g/m3from 84 g/m3 in 2020. Nocities in India met the WorldHealth Organization (WHO)air quality guideline of 5 g/m3. In 2021, 48 per cent ofIndia's cities exceeded 50 g/m3, or more than 10 timesthe WHO guideline.

3 "The report is based data from 6,475 cities in117 countries around theworld. According to the report,"Central and South Asia hadsome of the world's worst airquality and was home to 46 ofthe world's 50 most pollutedcities" in the Central and SouthAsia region, including India,Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lankaand Bangladesh, Bhiwadi inRajasthan's Alwar was the mostpolluted regional city, with anaverage PM concentrationof microgram per report, based on theupdated annual WHO air qual-ity guideline for releasedin September last year, foundfine particle pollution, knownas.

4 Is a major con-tributing factor to health effectssuch as asthma, stroke, heartand lung air quality dipped inIndia, the report found that itimproved in China as morethan half of the cities in Chinaincluded in the report sawlower levels of air pollutionwhen compared to the previousyear."Pollution levels within theCapital city of Beijing continueda five-year trend of improvedair quality, driven by emissioncontrol and reduction of coalpower plant activity and otherhigh emission and South Asia hadsome of the world's worst airquality in 2021 and was hometo 46 of the world's 50 most pol-luted cities," the report report found thatIndia's averages havereturned to pre-Covid 's annual average reached g/m3 in2021, ending a three-year trendof improving air quality.

5 Thereport states that India is hometo 11 of the 15 most pollutedcities in Central and South Asiain 2021 and Delhi saw a cent increase in con-centrations."Air pollution has a mas-sive impact on human health inIndia. It is the second biggestrisk factor for disease, and theeconomic cost of air pollutionis estimated to exceed $150 bil-lion dollars annually. ! At least eight people wereburnt to death in BagtuiVillage of Rampurhat sub-divi-sion in Birbhum district onMonday night in an allegedretaliatory attack by the sup-porters of a TrinamoolCongress deputy pradhanBhadu Sheikh.

6 The incidenttook place hours after BhaduSheikh was bombed to death bythe rival faction of his party,sources incident left sixwomen and two childrendead. Six people with sub-stantial burn injuries wereundergoing treatment at hos-pitals in Rampurhat andKolkata. Despite large policepresence, terrified villagerswere fleeing the village inhordes, locals said addingthatthe menfolk had alreadyleft the as the OppositionBJP demanded immediateimposition of Article 355 or356 and a probe by the CBI orNIA, the Mamata BanerjeeGovernment appointed aSpecial Investigation Teamcomprising senior IPS officersGyanwant Singh.

7 Miraj Khalidand Sanjay least five houses of therival group were set on fire byalleged TMC miscreants intheir bid to avenge the murderof their leader Bhadu Sheikh,sources said, adding both thegroups belonged to the TMC. Some people entered ourvillage and started hurlingbombs indiscriminately barelya few hours after BhaduSheikh s death. Ten of us tookshelter inside a shop and lockedit from the inside. Then theythrew petrol and torched theshop and two children and sixwomen save for the two of us,were charred to death, saidNazma Biwi admitted in aKolkata hospital with 40 percent burns.

8 Another girlKhushi Khatun, a relative of thedeceased persons said, Tenpeople have died and six are inhospital .. I could barely savemyself by fleeing to my aunt shouse .. already the menfolkhad fled the village fearingretaliation after the death of theUpa Pradhan .. all this whilethe police just sat as silent spec-tators. On being asked why theneighbours would not come totheir rescue, a local requestinganonymity said, Who wouldwant to come out in the midstof bombing. " # $ % Road Transport MinisterNitin Gadkari said onTuesday that in the next twoyears, the price of electric vehi-cles (EVs)

9 Would be at par withpetrol and diesel Minister also stressedthe need to drastically cutdown the whopping lakhroad accident deaths in India,saying his Ministry was work-ing on reducing the black-spots which are in the Lok Sabhaon the Demands for Grants forRoad Transport and HighwaysMinistry, 2022-23, Gadkarisaid the transport and energyscene is rapidly changing withelectric and solar energy,ethanol and hydrogen going tobe the main drivers for replac-ing conventional energy. This,he said, would greatly improvethe environment, noise pollu-tion and cut-down said fast constructionof roads and highways hasreduced the time and cost oftravelling manifold.

10 Now,Meerut can be reached in 35minutes from Delhi, andJaipur in two-hours,Dehradun in two hours andAmritsar in four. Road con-nectivity would improve somuch in the coming years thatone could travel to Ladakh toSrinagar and then straight-away drive to Mumbai, headded. Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav and partyMP from Rampur, Azam Khanon Tuesday resigned from theLok Sabha. Khan has beenlodged in Sitapur jail for morethan two handed over hisresignation to Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla in Delhi and Azam Khanresigned from the Lok Sabhaafter winning the recently-heldUP Assembly elections fromKarhal and Rampur Assemblyseats leaders have appar-ently decided to retain theirAssembly seats in a bid to givea boost to the party in UttarPradesh.