Delhi residents engulfed in pollution blame authorities for inaction

Public health emergency declared after air pollution levels go off the charts It was meant to be a ceremony to bring good health and prosperity. But the thousands of women who gathered in the waters of Delhi's Yamuna River on the city's most polluted day in three years, to mark the ancient Hindu festival of Chhath Puja, instead had to immerse themselves in the thick toxic waste, while inhaling air so thick with smog that it went off the pollution charts.Sunita Devi, 42, was among those who offered prayers as she stood in the toxic foam of the Yamuna, so thick and frothy from industrial and domestic pollution it made the water resemble a putrid bubble bath. The irony that this was a ritual meant to give thanks to the sun god for sustaining life on earth was not lost on her. Continue reading...