Leonardo DiCaprio's Instagram post highlights Delhi air pollution and citizen protests
This isn’t the first time Leonardo DiCaprio has taken to social media for issues plaguing India. An earlier post spoke about the water scarcity in Chennai.
Delhi has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Touted to be the world's most polluted city, it has come under the lens of environmental activists in the country and everywhere else.
Now, celebrated Hollywood actor and climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio took to Instagram to highlight the voices of Indian citizens demanding action to deal with the dangerous toxic air pollution in the country, especially the national capital.
Leonardo DiCaprio (Image: Facebook)
His post, which had an poignant image of a child sitting on his father's shoulders and holding a placard that read, "I want a better future", read,
“Over 1500 citizens gathered in at India Gate, in New Dehli, to demand immediate action on the city's hazardous pollution levels. According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution in India is estimated to kill about 1.5 million people every year; these statistics make air pollution the fifth-largest killer in India.”
The protest DiCaprio is referring to was held at the India Gate on November 5. It saw many Delhi residents taking to the streets to demand stringent and immediate action from the government. As air quality deteriorated in Delhi, the Supreme Court has come down hard on the Delhi government for failing to come up with a better plan than the odd-even scheme for traffic management to curb pollution. “Delhi is a gas chamber,” the apex court had said earlier.
A few hours after the protest that DiCaprio referred to in his post, the Prime Minister’s office set up a special panel to address the issue and stated that it would report on the issue in two weeks.
The actor’s post also said,
"The Supreme Court of India asked the Central Government and respective state governments to fix the crop and waste burning issue of Dehli within a week. The Center accepted that the Green Fund will be used to combat toxic air pollution.
"The Indian Prime Minister asked the Agriculture Ministry to distribute equipment urgently so that crop burning is no longer necessary. Despite these promises, the air is still unsafe and activists will keep the pressure on until the air pollution reaches safe levels.
The protest was organised by a collaboration of movements; @xrebellionind @LetMeBreathe_In @FridaysForFutureIndia_ along with other activists.”
This isn’t the first time Leonardo DiCaprio has taken to social media for issues plaguing India. An earlier post spoke about the water scarcity in Chennai.
“Only rain can save Chennai,” the Oscar winner had stated.
(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)
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