Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday lashed out at festival revelers after thick smog engulfed Delhi and Mumbai, driving air pollution metrics into hazardous territory.
Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index of 441 on Monday morning. Mumbai logged an AQI of 264. Thick grey sheets of haze hung over both financial and administrative capitals, blinding commuters and choking morning traffic corridors. The toxic spike followed widespread firecracker bursts during Diwali night celebrations across residential hubs.
Dipke condemned the collective indifference to public health. He said he had "never seen people who are so determined to make their own lives miserable," taking aim at residents who defied environmental warnings. Smog levels showed little sign of dispersing by midday. The air hung stagnant.
The readings placed Delhi squarely in the severe bracket, while Mumbai remained in the poor category. Particulate matter blanketed major arterial routes across the National Capital Region, slashing visibility and triggering respiratory distress calls across local clinics. Western coastal breezes failed to clear Mumbai's coastal belt, leaving sea-facing promenades enveloped in dense particulate dust.
Municipal authorities and state pollution control boards now face urgent demands to roll out emergency dust suppression runs, mechanical sweeping, and anti-smog guns across high-density corridors over the coming week.