As Gurgaon partied, social worker Gauri Sarin and other volunteers welcomed the New Year with a 24-hour fast demanding a pollution-free city

Gauri Sarin, well known social worker and convener of the citizen-led initiative Making Model Gurugram (MMG), never had any bronchial problems.

But in December 2025, she fell sick with a severe cough that wracked her body for more than 20 days.

“I was struck by what happened to me. I had never faced this earlier, but the polluted air had finally got to me too,” she told The Indian Express. Sarin, whose organisation has committed itself to building a comprehensive framework for a sustainable Gurgaon, decided to take her concern before fellow citizens.

So at 7 o’clock in the evening on the last day of the year, she began a symbolic 24-hour protest fast, sitting down in the cold and fog near the Sector 62 bus stop at Golf Course Extension Road along with a dozen-odd volunteers.

“They (the government) are not adhering even to basic GRAP norms, even the sprinkling [of water] is not being done properly, but only to temporarily cover dust. They are putting the onus on private enterprises to invest in measures [to check air pollution], but are doing nothing to reduce industrial pollution and vehicular emissions,” Sarin said on Wednesday evening.

GRAP, the Graded Response Action Plan, is a set of measures that governments in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) must take as the air pollution rises through stages.

While flagging the inadequate protests against the failure to enforce GRAP norms, Sarin clarified that her fast was “pro-people”, rather than a political or anti-government action.

“Sixty-five per cent of Gurgaon lives in high rises and may not care enough [about the worsening air]. That is why I am fasting to start, let me put my life at risk, since even those with severe bronchial issues are in denial. I will quit [living in] Gurgaon if nothing is done on pollution,” she said.

Environmental activist Vaishali Rana, who was present in solidarity with Sarin, said it was “sad” that Sarin was having to hold a public protest on this issue, but “nothing is being done”, and “the dust and pollution persist”. Relay fasts have been planned to draw attention to the issue in a sustained manner, Rana said.

Neena Wagh, an advocate for the specially abled and founder of Assisted Living for Autistic Persons (ALAP), said it was the collective responsibility of the middle classes and the public of Gurgaon to raise their voice on the issue.

On Thursday, Sarin, who left the protest site after midnight but continued with her fast, said that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the most important air pollution watchdog for Delhi-NCR, had got in touch with her to say that “major clean-ups to address the dust will be done”.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) show Gurgaon recorded its worst December air in at least eight years in 2025 – the average air quality index (AQI) reading climbing to 298, past the previous peak of 295.9 reached in 2021, and reaching within a whisker of the ‘very poor’ zone (AQI 301-400).

This December had no ‘moderate’ air days (AQI 101-200); on most days the air was either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’, with AQI exceeding 300 on 13 days. The worst air spell was between December 18 and December 22, when AQI levels were between 322 and 364.

The average daily AQI last month was significantly higher than the number for December 2024 (236). Average daily AQI in Gurgaon in December has gone from 202.9 in 2018 to 263.7, 280.5, 295.9, 276.6, 259.9, and 236 in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively.

Gurgaon’s annual average PM2.5 was near 80 µg/m³ in 2025, double India’s national standard (40 µg/m³) and 16 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 5 µg/m³.