NEW DELHI: At least 16 farmers have been arrested in India’s northern state of Haryana for illegally burning paddy stubble to clear fields, a practice that stokes air pollution in the region around New Delhi at the onset of winter, authorities said on Tuesday.
India’s national capital region battles pollution at this time each year as temperatures fall and cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke, much of which authorities say travels from the neighboring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.
Delhi, ranked the world’s most polluted capital for four years in a row by Swiss group IQAir, has closed its schools and halted construction projects for brief periods in the past as it looks to tackle the problem.
Police in Haryana’s Kaithal region said that 22 complaints of stubble burning have been registered this year, and 16 people have been arrested.
“Those arrested have been released on bail since this is a bailable offense,” said Birbhan, a deputy superintendent of police, who uses only one name.
Investigations have been launched against almost 100 farmers across Haryana, while fines have been imposed on more than 300, local media reported.
Delhi recorded “very poor” air on Tuesday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), with an air quality index (AQI) of 320. An AQI of 0-50 is considered good while anything between 400-500 poses health dangers.
It was the second-most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, a live ranking on IQAir’s website indicated, after only Lahore in neighboring Pakistan.
The environment ministry said Delhi’s daily average AQI was likely to stay in the ‘Very Poor’ category (300-400) in coming days due to unfavorable meteorological and climatic conditions.
To curb Delhi’s pollution authorities have ordered water sprinkling on roads to tackle dust, increasing public bus and metro services and higher parking fees to discourage car use.
Environmentalists say the measures are inadequate.
“These are only emergency measures ... This air pollution mitigation needs a long-term comprehensive solution rather than these ad hoc measures,” said environmentalist Vimlendu Jha.
Sixteen farmers arrested for burning crop waste as pollution rises in north India
https://arab.news/j7348
Sixteen farmers arrested for burning crop waste as pollution rises in north India
- Investigations have been launched against almost 100 farmers across Haryana, while fines have been imposed on more than 300
- Delhi is the second-most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, after only Lahore in neighboring Pakistan
Reference to Trump’s impeachments is removed from the display of his Smithsonian photo portrait
- For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon’s 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s photo portrait display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document US history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump’s first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum’s “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump’s original “portrait label,” as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump’s Supreme Court nominations and his administration’s development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”
Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump’s “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents’ painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump’s display.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok’s work.
“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon’s 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents US history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation’s development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.
In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery’s director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian’s governing board, but she ultimately resigned.
At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump’s two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden’s autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
