(MENAFN) A demonstration condemning the deteriorating air quality in India’s capital resulted in the detention of several individuals on Sunday, as they assembled to urge the government to take immediate measures.

Residents of New Delhi — including environmental advocates and parents accompanied by their children — gathered near India Gate, the city’s central war memorial, as pollution levels reached alarming highs.

For the past two weeks, the air quality in New Delhi has been classified from ‘poor’ to ‘severe,’ rendering it the most contaminated urban area in the nation. By Monday, the air quality index had reached 344, a level defined as ‘severe’ and hazardous for respiration, according to the World Health Organization.

“We want to meet our elected officials. We had sought an appointment with the chief minister but were refused. So many parents are here because their children are suffering,” environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari told a news agency, emphasizing that “every third child already has damaged lungs.”

Another participant told the news agency that the authorities had neglected their duty to ensure the fundamental right “to breathe clean air” and that “politicians keep blaming each other instead of taking responsibility.”

Demonstrators carried placards and banners inscribed with slogans such as “Breathing is killing me” and “I miss breathing.”

Law enforcement officers instructed the crowd to disperse, and according to an HT report, authorization for the gathering at India Gate had not been granted, leading to several detentions.

Each winter, air quality in New Delhi worsens as farmers in nearby regions ignite leftover crop stubble, while lower temperatures trap the resulting smoke.

The haze combines with emissions from vehicles and factories, forming a toxic mixture.

Due to the capital’s dry and windless winters, these pollutants linger, sometimes elevating pollution levels to 20 times higher than the WHO’s recommended safe threshold.

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