Delhi chokes before Diwali, Centre wants immediate action

With air quality in the Delhi-NCR region turning "very poor" ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Friday said construction activities in the national capital and satellite towns will be banned between 6 pm and 6 am from October 26 to 30.

In a letter to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, EPCA chairman Bhure Lal also issued directions to close down coal-based industries, barring power plants, in satellite towns of Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh during the period.