On November 23rd, the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air organised a protest in front of India Gate against the rise in AQI. People started shouting slogans against pollution, while some groups also started sloganeering Maoist slogans. 6 protesters were detained, and 17 protesters were arrested.
On November 23rd, the Delhi Coordination Committee for clean air, which many organisations are part of, organised the protest. Alongside citizens, they protested in front of the India Gate for the rising AQI levels in Delhi, which have sparked concerns for public health safety.
The protest began at 4:30 pm right below the India Gate. Organisations like Himkhand and bsCEM started to raise slogans for the extra-judicial encounter of CPI (Maoist) leadership Hidma. In an interview with a bsCEM member, they linked the rising pollution to the ‘imperialism development model’ and championed the development model that CPI (Maoist) brought in Bijapur and Bastar. Many have criticised, like SFS, the slogan raised by bsCEM and Himkhand, calling the slogans adventurist and ‘not an appropriate platform to raise this issue’. They also said they were not informed of the slogans that would be raised before the protest.
Due to these differences, parallel protests took place. The one on the Kartavya Path, distributing pamphlets and addressing the public, while the one near India Gate, which refused to move and sloganeering against pollution, alongside Maoist slogans. Many of the latter protesters were detained and arrested.
Protesters have alleged that they were dragged and, later, male officers manhandled female protesters. A protester, according to Wire, developed abrasions on his legs from being dragged by the police. Many have criticised the brutality of detention by the police, calling it undemocratic.
6 protesters were detained, and later 17 students who went to Parliament Street Police station demanding the release of the detained were arrested. The police have registered two FIRs, one at Kartavya Police Station under several provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging that protesters tried to pepper spray police officers and blocked the road. Another FIR was registered in Parliament Street police station for obstructing public servants and assaulting police officers. The 17 students were sentenced to 3 days in jail by Judicial Magistrate Sahil Monga on November 24.
The constant protest against pollution shows the rising concern for public safety. Many residents are already reporting health issues due to high AQI. This incident reveals that public fury is reaching a boiling point, driven by the tangible health crises residents are already facing from the city’s toxic air.
Also read: Protesters Detained at Kartavya Path as Delhi’s Air Pollution Crisis Deepens.
Photo credits: Press Trust of India
Reva Rawat
