Dozens Detained at India Gate as Delhi Chokes Under ‘Air Emergency’

Amid worsening air quality in Delhi, with several areas recording an AQI above 400, environmental activists, journalists, youth, and civil society members gathered near India Gate, where police detained several demonstrators.

The protest, held around 5 p.m. on November 9, was part of a “Clean Air Protest” calling for urgent government action and stricter policies to tackle “air emergency.”

Environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari said around a hundred citizens were detained, adding that even women police personnel “identified with the protesters as they too struggle to breathe the same toxic air.”

DCP Devesh Kumar Mahla said 60–80 people were detained for blocking Mansingh Road, clarifying that only Jantar Mantar is authorized for protests.

A protester told ANI, “They are sprinkling water at data centres… Even cloud seeding didn’t work. We want a permanent solution, but even the public is fast asleep.”

Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was present at India Gate, said that organising peaceful protests is a fundamental right of every citizen, as upheld by the Supreme Court on several occasions.