SRINAGAR: With air pollution worsening in New Delhi and beyond, Indian-occupied Kashmir has decided to step up efforts to combat its own worsening air quality. The state’s government announced last month that it would begin enforcing an existing ban on the burning of leaves and wood pruned from trees. The New Delhi government blames the smog in part on the burning of crop residues in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana states. Enforcement of Srinagar’s burning ban has run into some opposition, both from residents dependent on charcoal for winter heat and from those making it. Kashmiris traditionally use charcoal to keep warm in winter, burning it in kangris (fire pots) which they hold against their bodies under a large cloak.

Source: Pakistan Today December 20, 2017 06:33 UTC