Well, it is that time of the year again when Delhiites regret spending thousands of rupees on expensive firecrackers as they wake up wheezing and coughing in the middle of the night with their eyes all red and burning. The sun is barely visible and there's this thick sheet of smog that prevents the warm rays from touching the ground.

Till about 8 pm, it felt so good to see and hear no crackers. But alas! The clock struck 10 and Delhi NCR forgot all about air pollution. Such a shame. We'll all be breathing this toxic air because of your ignorance. pic.twitter.com/4VAVJi5lbN

As it is, the Capital is infamous for having one of the worst and the most toxic atmospheres in the world, add to that the additional and unwarranted effects of bursting crackers during Diwali and you have yourself a toxic dirty bomb ready to explode and take thousands of lives, just like it does every single year. 

While it is safe to say that the localities' lungs are already doomed, people from the rest of the parts of the country and certainly the people coming in from other countries do not deserve to suffer and struggle in the suffocating air of the city. 

Delhites going to work after Diwali : #DelhiChokes #DelhiPollution pic.twitter.com/hu6WpG5oxA

Various environmentalists have therefore decided to make an attempt to change the mind of the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and change the location of the Indian cricket team's match against the visiting Bangladesh side which is scheduled to take place on November 3 at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

"On the 3rd of November India is scheduled to play against Bangladesh in a T20 match at Feroz Shah Kotla at a time when pollution levels are expected to be between severe to hazardous," activists Jyoti Pande and Ravina Raj Kohli wrote in the open letter.

"In the light of extreme pollution in Delhi, we would like to request you to consider shifting the venue for the first T20 outside of Delhi," they wrote.

BCCI worried about #IndvsBan as level of Air pollution has gone up in Delhi.

Time has come for Bhakts to call Sourav Ganguly an anti national pic.twitter.com/oKLlGYpDlQ

"Making our cricketers play a physically demanding sport for 3-4 hours in Delhi's toxic air will end up doing more damage to our cricket team's health in the long run," they added.

The progressively worsening situation of Delhi is just beyond a reason to worry for the residents of the city and they know that. What is rather nerve wracking to see is how normalised it has become in the region and how people are learning to live with it other than limiting and eventually reversing the damage. After all, how much can an air purifier help you once you leave your house?

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