turned out for what started as a peaceful anti-government rally organizers say the march was forcibly suspended by the police the mother of a british woman convicted in cyprus of lying about being raped by 12 men is calling for a boycott of the country russian's foreign ministry says the case raises serious concerns for them a cypriot court is convicting the 1000 year old woman of public mischief after she withdrew the initial accusation she says she did that because of pressure from the police. people of power is the program coming up next investigating the deadly pollution in india's capital city stay with us. capturing a moment in time. snapshots of other lives. providing the clips into someone else's one. witness on al-jazeera.

telly the media screaming she took government has the dirtiest of the world's carpet. exposing millions of rich and competent to a shocking range of life threatening respective 3 seasons so why is it so polluted or mostly briefing is being done to remedy we are still in a mission to her mentor who was born and raised in the city to find out.

delhi. a vibrant bustling metropolis with over 20000000 inhabitants the capital of a rapidly growing india expected to be the most populous city on the planet in the next decades. it's also my home i was born in delhi and i've lived most of my life but i've been away for a few years and in that time delhi has been making the headlines for an alarming reason it's become the most polluted capital city in the world and its residents say there's snow leaving bison by the air they breathe air pollution is estimated to be the highest cause of death in india killing over a 1000000 people every year nearly 12000 people died in that lead 2017 because of the city's bad air some doctors are calling this

a public health emergency. so i've come back to find out why like many big cities around the world this pollution from too much traffic and from industry but there are also specific local causes delis geographies one poverty is another what i'm keen to know is why can't more be done to stop this i also want to hear from those worst affected the sick and dying and those on the frontline the levels of pollution are too high it's a it's a very dangerous situation dr ivan kumar has been a lung cancer surgeon in delhi for over 30 years most of his patients used to be male smokers in their fifty's and sixty's but that's all changed when we analyzed over data last year and we follow. and the price of $5050.00 distribution between small cars and so-called nonsmokers from hardly any lady

40 percent female then age group from fifty's and sixty's we were now seeing patients in thirty's and forty's and nearly 8 percent of my patients were under 40 years of age i rarely see along with just being even when i'm operating one teenager's we are fighting big black black deposits and much of this dr kumar believes is down to the city's dirty air in delhi the only requirement for you to be affected by the ill effects of air pollution is that you should be breathing. to get a better sense of what that means i had back out to the streets it's early summer and the city is gearing up for national elections pollution levels are generally lower at this time of the year than in the winter. but things are still pretty bad

. i've met up with ron aqsa taria who has developed an equity wanted to ring network with piety khan for and university to my surprise he just my attention 1st to something quite mundane the road speaking almost like 50 micrograms off of the last words of picking up just when that activity was happening ron extra vice monitors fine particles in the air including something called b.m. $2.00 which is smaller than the weight of human hair this tiny particle is a mighty killer it has been linked to nearly 3000000 deaths around the world in 2017 but more than half of them occurring in china and india. although the indian government disputes mortality figures to. linked to absolution b m $2.00 are the most harmful pollutants to humans you know it goes deeper than the body it settles in the lungs and over an extended eurasian you know it

definitely caused all the respiratory problems while many disorders people like walk faster but the people who are actually doing the work they're exposed to this on an extended duration day after day. there's more to delhi's application than just to go dusted. and so we set off to take measurements around the 6 x. 7 right now we have quite a bit oh yeah the feel $2.00 level here is higher than 60 in the last 24 hour standard how much of a problem is that you know. the rate of actually called about 30 to 35 percent of families where you should break up going over the hospital unless it is regulated to keep going. with around $10000000.00 vehicles fighting for space in delhi's crowded streets it's unavoidable and sadly ironic that among those we knew them are some of the victims of the city's policing crisis.

i'm a 26 year old new delhi resident about 6 months ago i got diagnosed with stage 4 met a static lung cancer. priyanka jan is a digital marketing consultant an only child she lives with her mother in south delhi the right lung is completely damaged the cancer has spread so much that it's just not visible on extra has it's less than a year ago she used to drive for an hour and a half one way to get to her office nearly 25 kilometers away. now many of her journeys to and from the hospital the city's evolution has been a significant contribution to my health issue it was very very difficult because i was you know working i was living my daily life i was happy

and then all of a sudden i started experiencing these breathing issues i would go breathless and then one day i was hospitalized i still feel that. i'm not sure if i would even make it for the new year and i don't know how many how many days do i have. let me take about 3 and it is pretty evident that she's too young to have any cancer at all and then to have a longer answer which is classically related to smoking is almost impossible to with priyanka as dr lee they should all think he has been on colleges in delhi for the past 7 years he's noticed a rise in the lung cancer among his patients we used to talk about smoking go back every day for 25 years causes cancer or any sex so it's quite obvious that that may

not be able to use their gums to chemical industries somebody who's exposed well she's not exposed to that either then you start thinking of family history and she doesn't have the idea that you have to stop and. pollution actually be your reasons for a cancer somebody dark young there's enough evidence in the world that pollution can go dark and i really wonder if that was the main cord to be true fact of if so then it could be in accord with the latest state of global air report on air quality and health it states that 33 percent of lung cancer deaths in india can be attributed. pollution. living in a city like delhi you're directly but do you think in handing. when all look and serve warming chemicals not for one awkward order or do you been doing this for years together i can not see

a stopper to say that's katie and john a kids mean some more disturbing news in the past 6 months has put monitors in 15 of. the city he's noticed high levels of pollution even your hospitals in a neighborhood where i grew up. this is bad news for patients to risk of having respiratory ailments from the air that they breathe is very high for you know places like these it is particularly more important to make sure that the air is far more cleaner. it also helps explain why we could see a lot of nebulized and mosques being sold around us people used to buy headache. pain killers buying breathing about it is which is becoming a car body dies medical equipment you know required still the unfortunate reality you know what is happening to the i don't know if. it's been shown by studies that

men of lung capacity in generation born and brought up in the new cities like they really is much less than their counterparts in polluted cities. because some of the most exposed to the cities and pollution i mean them just a few kilometers away from where i live a poor community that helps clean up danny but is he clearly vulnerable to its dirty. little bit of color her. name. but actually. it's a learning center run by n.g.o.s children surprise me out of their knowledge of how people eating their daily chores are but they see they have no other choice.

but to. file must hire leading cause of household and the indian government has made a commitment to replace the. with gas and windows and $50000000.00 homes according to official figures almost $71000000.00 have benefited from this so far but many of the poorest communities like these have yet to be reached. that. being here has made me realize that denny's application comes from many sources big and small. it's only worse by the city's unique job regime and atmospheric conditions

pollution from other areas gets blown here and then gets trapped. what is surprising is that the fight for clean air was 1st spotted decades ago and partially won but experts say the gains have now been lost we cleaned out the public transport sector we cleaned up the auto rickshaws the grass polluting sector but then over the 2003 period to 2013 the private freight cars just formed in our cities because we completely neglected public transport and as it is out of fear we have this explosion of vehicles so any town arayan was part of a campaign that led to public transport being switched to compressed natural gas or c n g we just got complacent. we just believe that the problem had gone away but what

we forgot is that any city like delhi will continue to grow and the challenges will increase so nor city in the world the job is done and i think for a city like delhi the the knowledge is particularly painful because it affects our health every lucian is a public health that would you see something we need to be densely what it about. so what are the authorities doing here to tackle the most obvious causes of delhi's dirty air. transport sector is one of the biggest contribution to the city's abolition this is made worse by the fact that there is a still real shortfall in the public transport system the delhi government says it's taking steps to fix this problem.

last year then he made the commitment that he will bring in $1000.00 we are looking buses this is the largest commitment by any city in india. i. just meant shot at the delhi government has been working on an ambitious electric vehicle plan for the city if we are able to achieve the goal of ensuring that 25 percent of all new year to start away goes in there are electric wiccans in 5 years from now our goal is that in 10 going to look at 100 percent a transition and reduce this 30 to 40 percent it's contribution of transport sector for pollution free despite these commitments the delhi government has been accused of not doing enough in the 4 years of the delhi government not a single bus has been added they have given a plan for a power was only buses and for another 2000 ordinary buses but honestly. even that is too little why this is such a shortfall of buses will be strange for many people around the world to know that

the elected government off there lee does not have any control over the land or which it can set up public transport facilities by the bus depots and and the central government can cause that and unfortunately the central government has not allowed their government any access to more land the will these kind of facilities . even when the authorities here do take action matters elsewhere can cause problems down the stations are a case in point. the city's law school fired plant rather poor was shut down nastia. despite that the problem hasn't gone away it is very clear that air pollution is not a local problem it is a regional problem and what one finds a little ironical is that on one hand you close down by the border because it is polluting delhi but on the other hand new power plants have been approved which i have read in 100 kilometers of been in my own mental lawyer rig that has been

fighting for cleaner emissions from power plants the government of india came out with a fairly progressive emission norms for power plants the idea is that they will install new equipments as a result of which the pollution level will go down by almost 30 to 40 percent. the deadline was initially fixed for 2017 but the plants are yet to switch to cleaner gnome's something which was hailed as one of the very important decisions taken by the present government to deal with the environmental crisis has been simply put in the back burner because there was no interest by the power companies and nor interest by the government to enforce these new norms. dirty coal plants are a problem familiar to other parts of the world india has another particularly distinct. of pollution challenge. the fumes from millions of firecrackers set off

during the hindu festival of the valley. it's the single largest sore all on the atmosphere of delhi nearly 2.5 percent of the new pollution is caused by those 3 days of cobalt shank on the line and is a senior supreme court advocates who joined other parents in filing a petition for clean air on behalf of that toddlers my middle child was having serious broken issues because of the amount of pollutants we had in the school to the sniffling and coughing tossing and turning at night the toddler skis move the supreme court to fast ban the sale of firecrackers and lead to allow them with strict conditions but despite this millions of firecrackers was set off. and it's this kind of ignorance that has brought children outside the environment

ministry to ask for more government action on pollution will not be released completely we cannot move out. leaving i don't leave the film. we are not able to believe. in the body guy evolution is a lot we would expect a fight i have i think about how it was i was setting me up. in answer to these and other concerns authorities have introduced a slew of measures including planting trees around the city building expressways and banning the import of dirty feel. in january 29000 delhi was among the cities listed in the country's 1st ever national clean air programme by the aquila he is still not good enough to go to india stop environment. official to ask why

i got figures from your office and the number of days and early last year was 0 which is quite alarming one of the critical factors in the quality is the meterological factor the continuous layer of washed over daily or this does is the . they prevent the dispersal of it here because of the moisture level of the dispersal is very bad and that is why you rarely get to say a good day to have an absolute number of 0 good air quality days and. despite so much government intervention doesn't that surprise you well that just means that we need to do more work there is one point i would like to make it cannot and should not be the government's responsibility alone people's participation is a huge thing unless that happens and individuals start caring for the environment we will not be able to really clean up. the combative and labyrinth tiny chel of

indian politics is also a barrier one of the most contentious issues has been the burning of rice stubble outside of delhi which leaves the city in a peak his every winter and ultimately immigrants here struggle mightily but unfortunately there were when this common scenario or money says saudia is delhi's deputy chief minister he says the federal government must do more to bring down stubble fires outside the city of his consolation of the news and. it's company nothing is original crisis monkey of course and there weren't going to really come up with the entire solomon holmes and lawrence about a bargain with the cynically meetings the bill out there but meeting successful is a little drama but historically we do so long as it on the telly going to put out an anybody who plan malarkey. but i am saying to the delhi chief minister of

gold blame someone else i think pollution is too big a public health emergency for us to deteriorate into india's favorite game which is to blame another political party and get into screaming on television what's more says suneet on arayan the problem is not a lack of regulations it's getting them enforced implementation is india's attlee's he too because the institutions for governance for in foresman are very disabled they are poor so there are enough orders that are there but our institutions really love to eat and according to data from the national crime records bureau violators on to being prosecuted or sent to jail this is what the state of delhi has done it has not registered a single case and so there's no question of anybody getting convicted because there is no case minister at all so that we get this straight and in all of them really

we don't have a single conviction basically means all of it is complying with the law there is for political gain and everybody complains with the law it's definitely is not true either it will not see such alarming level of collusion so it is a clear instance where the enforcement agencies have kept their eyes completely closed to every single violation that is happening in the state. as i go around the city makes shocking revelations still ring in my yes meanwhile delhi citizens continue to wrestle with health problems that pollution causes. but there is at least some good news for priyanka all of these blasts for us this big one is all cancer this is 3 months ago a look at the seams can hear you see this block has completely disappeared and you can see these black supporter who are truly gone except the smaller doctor

excellent news you got very happy with thank you david so don't you think this is like a case for life but it's certainly really crazy lives for the girls it's working you know what we don't hold and you being nobody can predict really bad luck so many years. out on the streets campaigning is getting louder although after you stand has made it to party manifestos for the 1st time ever it's still not a major election issue but for a recently bereaved family just outside delhi it became a matter of life and death i use. the bait when there were windows open and there were is and she was asking for help she and she was. sometime our died a few weeks ago at the age of 35 she left behind her husband of a and

a 10 year old son story on church who now wants to become a doctor i want to be in okinawa just because the cancer spreading in india continues isn't going to get so we have to stop disturbing pollution is every bit that it's affecting my mom and some of the people. i'm trying hard to become a father and i would be. she was my best friend she was my losses my love and she well it's like. meeting some of the worst affected. and has made me realise there is little time to lose in the fight for clean up and. grieving is the most important. fact is that you know that you're doing it every moment and that's

your source of life. the government really needs to take it up as a one of its priorities before anything else. really is so that it's causing so many deaths every day. as i leave. my beloved city is facing its greatest challenge from an invisible killer. and the government and citizens treat this as an emergency millions will continue to risk their lives just by creating.

in this life the most incredible stories are often true. and cheering go on experiences. makes the unfamiliar familiar. in this life diversity makes a difference understanding the importance of being part of something much great of the soul in this life what tomatoes is freedom of expression. the right to put it. into the darkness. because again. the desire to understand the world. makes us human. and the human condition is universal.

this is al-jazeera. hello and welcome i'm peter davi you're watching the news our live from though are coming up in the next 60 minutes a retreat with conditions iraq's protesters withdraw from the u.s. embassy compound but the man foreign troops pull out from iraq to. israel's prime minister 6 immunity from corruption cases that could further complicate the political deadlock. homes in ruins the af.