'we're praying': officials say india will not act on smog this year - good quality air purifiers

NEW DELHI (Reuters)-
As pollution levels in the Indian capital climbed to 12 times this week, government officials said they knew what it would take to control smog, but would not do anything, at least this year.
At this time of year, a major source of smog in northern India, including New Delhi, is farmers burning stubble on previous crops to prepare for new planting in November.
An estimated $0. 6 billion is needed to provide an alternative for farmers, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and opposition parties in power in New Delhi and nearby Punjab are fighting over who will pay, three federal officials have been briefed on the situation.
"There will be no more happening this year," one of them said . ".
"We are praying now.
Only God can save us.
"The official said that he bought pollution masks for his family and installed air purifiers at his home in New Delhi, which is now the world's most polluted city, according to the Brookings Institution.
There are 20 million people in this city.
A spokesman for the federal environment department declined to comment on funds that the federal and state governments have quarreled over to resolve the problem.
A few days after New Delhi and provincial leaders in neighboring Haryana spit out each other on Twitter, they agreed on Wednesday on measures to control smog --in 2018.
In the past few days, parts of northern India, including the capital, have been shrouded in thick smog, and interviews with government officials have shown that the official response to this year's phenomenon is paralysis and lack of ownership.
Not just the burning of crops.
With winter approaching and wind speed falling, industrial smoke, car exhaust and dust cover the area every year.
The level of PM 2 is particularly bad this year.
According to a U. S. report, tiny particles went deep into the lungs, rising to more than 600 last week. S.
Embassy measures
The government says the upper limit for healthy air is 50.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of March 2017, respiratory diseases in the capital region resulted in about 10 deaths per day.
The World Bank estimates the cost of pollution in the country is as high as $7.
7% of GDP in 2013.
In 2015, Modi launched the first national air quality index in New Delhi and promised to take measures to clean the air.
Diesel is temporarily banned.
Running generators, buildings, waste incineration and trucks and non-
But construction and trucking resumed Thursday as pollution levels fell.
Authorities have also started using fire engines to spray water in parts of the capital in recent days, hoping it will help settle the dust.
However, these measures have proved largely ineffective.
"We have done our best to deal with this situation, but due to policy makers, we have not been able to solve the main problem of stubble burning," the government official said . ".
This is not a new problem.
This happens every year after the middle of the year.
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana began harvesting summer crops in October.
With the rise of labor costs and the short window of planting the next crop, most farmers burn stubble and straw in the ground to clean up the next crop.
Since October, more than 40,000 fires have been recorded in Punjab province, and farmers have handled nearly 20 million tons of rice waste, according to environmental groups.
But in recent years, the problem of stubble retention has become more acute because mechanized harvesters leave more remnants than hand-picked crops.
In the rich northern states, this harvester is becoming more and more popular, and the farmers' lobby groups there are also politically strong.
"The situation has deteriorated this year due to slow wind speed," which means that pollutants stay in the air longer, D.
National scientist Shah
Central Pollution Control Commission of India.
NITI Aayog, according to the federal government's economic planning-
An official involved in the preparation of the report said tank estimated that farmers would need alms worth about $0. 5 billion a year to switch to alternative ways of dealing with farm stubble.
An additional $100 million is needed to reward local agencies for adopting best practices and funding awareness campaigns, the official said.
Punjab alone needs about Rs 20 billion ($300 million)
Roshan Sunkaria, a senior state government official, said the federal government encourages farmers to take other ways every year.
Environmental groups say nothing has happened on the ground to ease the situation, and the only hope is that the crop burn will soon end and the wind speed will accelerate.
"Politicians play with public health by accusing each other," said Usman Nasim, a scientist at a private think tank --
Tank Center for Science and Environment.