As Delhi continues to gasp under dangerous levels of air pollution, author and entrepreneur Suhel Seth and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi have publicly expressed their frustration at the government’s inaction.
Seth, who has been vocal about deteriorating air quality, posted a scathing critique on X (formerly Twitter), saying the authorities were turning a blind eye to the crisis.
“The truth is nobody is talking about pollution. From the Chief Justice to the Chief Minister. It’s strange. They see but don’t want to act. What a dystopian world we live in,” he wrote, as the capital saw alarming AQI numbers again this week.
Meanwhile, Kiran Bedi’s timeline has turned into a constant reminder of Delhi’s stifling air. The former governor of Puducherry province has been sharing several posts tagged as “Feedback Post” urging the authorities to take urgent action.
In her latest post, shared about 11 hours ago, she reposted a Down To Earth cartoon depicting two patients in a hospital — one suffering from exposure to toxic air and the other beaten for simply asking for clean air. She wrote it “Another resource” with the hashtag “pollution”.
Despite a slight drop in pollution levels earlier this week, Delhi woke up to an AQI of 385 – classified as “very poor”. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has lifted GRAP III restrictions in Delhi-NCR, but residents are still facing difficult breathing conditions as the air quality fluctuates between “very poor” and “severe”.
Bedi also urged the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to step in with “proactive” and stronger solutions. In a November 27 post, she described the situation as “agonizing” and “depressing.”
“I live in Indirapuram and the AQI is currently 587. I have not sent my child to school despite the teachers’ messages. I have written a firm email to the principal. Whether it is in my area of control, I will do it,” one of her posts read, highlighting how families make difficult decisions to protect their children.
Earlier on November 25, she had shared that the toxic air had “severely” affected her own health – echoing the concerns of millions of people in Delhi-NCR who remain confined indoors.
Despite repeated attention to the crisis each winter, both Seth’s and Bedi’s reports reflect a growing sentiment among citizens — that the fight for clean air in the nation’s capital is still far from over.
