Health

Local communities, for their part, have begun to address some of these issues: they are forming their own trader groups to facilitate legal trade and negotiate better prices.

Late at night at the Khamarbari intersection, groups of nearly 40 displaced individuals –including many children – huddle around small fires made from burning scraps of wood and paper. The flickering flames offer fleeting warmth against the biting chill, but the bare pavement beneath them provides no cushion or protection. Children in thin, filthy sweaters shiver as they chat or try to sleep, their bodies pressed together for shared heat.

Health minister Sudha Gautam, a senior gynaecologist herself, is positioned to drive change. Experts urge her to prioritise regulation, monitoring, and awareness campaigns.

The holding centres often lack necessities like water and sanitation, and the people held there are lucky if they even receive two meals a day, as food stocks are often too low to supply enough meals. The need for blankets and winter kits is increasing.

The meeting also reviewed management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, with emphasis on designating C&D waste sites, stopping demolition activities during peak pollution periods, and partnering recycler associations for scientific disposal.

The initiative’s cornerstone is the Training and Capacity Building Programme Calendar prepared by the National Fisheries Development Board in coordination with Indian Council of Agricultural Research fisheries institutes.

Speaking at the launch, officials highlighted how PANKHUDI aligns with prime minister Narendra Modi's vision of leveraging technology as a bridge between the government and citizens.

These twin initiatives – ministerial oversight of state action plans and on-ground inspections by CAQM – reflect an intensified government push to address chronic air pollution in the NCR.