ThePrint asks:
Should Delhi be struck off as an international cricket venue because of pollution?
It is a very worrying situation. I had expressed my views to people in the government but no one took any step in this regard.
Yes, the Ferozshah Kotla stadium should not hold international matches because the environment is quite grim. The fact that some cricketers had difficulty breathing yesterday is shameful. It has never happened before. For the first time, a sports event was stopped because of bad weather and toxic air in Delhi.
BCCI’s acting president C. K. Khanna’s statement, that the Sri Lankan players created an unnecessary fuss when 20,000 spectators had no problem breathing, is not correct. Spectators, who are just watching the game, are very different from players. Cricketers, being athletes, indulge in physical exercise and they need clean air. Hence, the two are not comparable.
Read other perspectives on the smog affecting Sri Lanka vs India test match:
Ayaz Memon, sportswriter
Anurag Thakur, former president, BCCI
In 1998, when we first formed the government in Delhi, the situation was equally bad. At that time, we could see people wearing masks to protect themselves, like they are doing now. We took two immediate steps to curb the pollution. One, we replaced the use of diesel fuel with CNG for all public transport, including three-wheelers. Two, we expedited the construction of the metro line, which by far is the cleanest mode of transport.
Then the whole scenario changed and the impact lasted till 2015.
Delhi is the capital of a very large country where diplomats live and the Indian government operates from. For it to go through such a painful situation is unfortunate. Therefore, the government should immediately get everybody together and work on finding solutions to this problem.
Sheila Dikshit is the former chief minister of Delhi.